cDNAs and proteins involved in hypoxia, circadian and orphan signal transduction pathways, and methods of use

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids and proteins that are new and distinct members of the bHLH-PAS superfamily of transcription regulators. These “MOPs” (members of PAS) are useful in a variety of research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Several of the MOPs of the present invention are α-class hypoxia-inducible factors. Several other of the MOPs of the invention are involved in circadian signal transduction.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §371, this is a national stage of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US98/25314, filed Nov. 27, 1998 and claiming benefitof U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/066,863, filed Nov. 28, 1997, theentireties of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §202(c), it is acknowledged that the U.S.Government has certain rights in the invention described herein, whichwas made in part with funds from the National Institutes of Health,Grant Nos. P30-CA07175 and ES05703.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of molecular signaling andphysiological responses to external stimuli. In particular, thisinvention provides nucleic acid molecules and proteins that constitutenew members of the bHLH-PAS superfamily of transcription regulators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Several publications are referenced in this application to describe thestate of the art to which the invention pertains. Each of thesepublications is incorporated by reference herein.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AH receptor or AHR), AH receptor nucleartransporter (ARNT), Drosophila single-minded gene product (SIM) andDrosophila period gene product (PER) are the founding members of anemerging superfamily of regulatory proteins. The AHR and ARNT areheterodimeric partners that transcriptionally upregulate genes involvedin the metabolism of xenobiotics. The AHR is activatable by a number ofwidespread environmental pollutants like2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). In the absence of agonist,the AHR is primarily cytosolic and functionally repressed, presumably asthe result of its tight association with Hsp90. Current models suggestthat agonist binding initiates translocation of the receptor complex tothe nucleus and concomitantly weakens the AHR-Hsp90 association. Withinthe nucleus, Hsp90 is displaced and the AHR dimerizes with its partnerARNT resulting in a bHLH-PAS heterodimer with binding specificity forDNA sequences within enhancer elements upstream of gene products thatmetabolize foreign chemicals. In Drosophila, SIM is master regulator ofmidline cell lineage in the embryonic nervous system. In vitro and invivo studies suggest that SIM may also dimerize with an ARNT-likeprotein to regulate enhancer sequences present in the sim, slit and Tollstructural genes. The Drosophila PER protein plays a role in themaintenance of circadian rhythms. PER has been shown to form heterotypicinteractions with a second Drosophila protein, TIM, in vivo, andhomotypic interactions with the ARNT molecule in vitro.

The distinguishing characteristic of these proteins is a 200–300 stretchof amino acid sequence similarity known as a PAS (PER/ARNT/SIM) domain.In the AHR, the PAS domain has been shown to encode sites for agonistbinding, surfaces to support heterodimerization with other PAS domains,as well as surfaces that form tight interactions with Hsp90. In additionto the PAS domain, the AHR, ARNT and SIM also harbor a bHLH (basichelix-loop-helix) motif that plays a primary role in dimer formation.The bHLH motif is found in a variety of transcription factors thatutilize homotypic interactions to regulate various aspects of cellgrowth and differentiation. Dimerization specificity is dictated bysequences within both the bHLH and determinants within secondaryinteraction surfaces, such as the “leucine zipper or PAS domains.Interestingly, these dimerization surfaces also appear to restrictpairing to within a given bHLH protein superfamily, thus minimizingcrosstalk between important cellular pathways.

Because other bHLH protein families utilize multiple homotypicinteractions to provide fine control in the regulation of certain genebatteries, it is possible that additional bHLH-PAS proteins exist in themammalian genome and that a subset of these proteins might dimerize witheither the AHR or ARNT. However, prior to the present invention, the AHRand ARNT were the only mammalian bHLH-PAS proteins that had beenidentified. Accordingly, a need exists to identify and characterizeother bHLH-PAS domain proteins, particularly those that are novelreceptors for drugs, or are AHR or ARNT binding partners. Such moleculeswould find broad utility as research tools in elucidatingenvironmentally and developmentally controlled signal transductionpathways, and also as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for detectionand control of such pathways.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides isolated nucleic acids and proteins which arenew and distinct members of the bHLH-PAS superfamily of transcriptionregulators. These “MOPs” (members of PAS) are useful for a wide varietyof research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications, as described ingreater detail herein.

According to one aspect of the invention, isolated nucleic acidmolecules are provided that include an open reading frame encoding aprotein selected from the group consisting of: MOP2, MOP3, MOP4, MOP5,MOP6 MOP7, MOP8 and MOP9. In preferred embodiments, the open readingframe encodes a protein having an amino acid sequence substantially thesame as a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:11,SEQ ID NO:12, SEQ ID NO:13, SEQ ID NO:14, SEQ ID NO:15, SEQ ID NO:16 SEQID NO:17 and SEQ ID NO:18. The nucleic acid molecules of the inventionpreferably comprise sequences substantially the same as a sequenceselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ IDNO:4, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7 SEQ ID NO:8 and SEQ ID NO:9.

According to another aspect of the invention, isolated MOP proteins areprovided, which are products of expression of part or all of the openreading frames of the aforementioned nucleic acid molecules.

According to another aspect of the invention, recombinant DNA moleculesare provided, which comprise MOP encoding nucleic acid molecules,operably linked to vectors for transforming cells. Cells transformedwith those recombinant DNA molecules are also provided, as well ascellular assay systems utilizing those recombinant molecules.

According to another aspect of the invention, oligonucleotides betweenabout 10 and about 100 nucleotides in length are provided, whichspecifically hybridize with portions of the MOP-encoding nucleic acidmolecules.

According to another aspect of the invention, antibodies are providedwhich are immunologically specific for part or all of any of theMOP2-MOP8 proteins of the invention.

According to another aspect of the invention, assays and other methodsof using the aforementioned MOP nucleic acids, proteins andimmunospecific antibodies are provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. Schematic representation of a generic bHLH-PAS member and thecorresponding region where EST “hits” occurred. Top, schematic of ageneric bHLH-PAS family member. The hatched box represents the bHLHregion, the overlined area represents the PAS domain with thecharacteristic “A” and “B” repeats in white. The variable C terminus isboxed in white. A bold line representing the region in a genericbHLH-PAS member where the homology occurs is indicated next to theoriginal Gen Bank™ accession number for each identified EST(MOP1=T10821, MOP2=T70415, MOP3=T77200 and F06906, MOP4=R58054,MOP5=R67292; see Table 1).

FIG. 2. Amino acid sequence and multiple alignment of the PAS domains ofMOP1 (SEQ ID NO:10), MOP2 (SEQ ID NO:11), MOP3 (SEQ ID NO:12), MOP4 (SEQID NO:13) and MOP5 (SEQ ID NO:14). The amino acid sequence including aCLUSTAL alignment of the bHLH-PAS domains is depicted. The CLUSTALalignment was performed using the MEGALIGN program (DNASTAR, Madison,Wis.) with a PAM250 weight table using the following parameters:Ktuple=1, Gap Penalty=3, Window=5. Amino acid boundaries for theresidues encompassing the bHLH and PAS domains of the MOPs were definedbased on previous observations. The bHLH domain is boxed, while thebasic region is specified by a vertical line. The PAS domain isunderlined, while the “A” and “B” repeats of the PAS domain are boxed.Consensus (60%) residues in the PAS domain are denoted with an asterisk.

FIG. 3. Yeast two-hybrid analysis. In vivo interaction of MOPs withdioxin signaling pathway. FIG. 3A, schematic of AHR, ARNT, and LexAfusion constructs. Panel shows a schematic of the AHR, with the PASdomain (black) with the characteristic “A” and “B” repeats (white), thebHLH domain (striped), and the variable C terminus (white). Thetranscriptionally active glutamine rich domain is indicated with “Q”(shaded box). LexA fusion proteins are indicated with the N terminus ofLexA DNA-binding protein fused to bHLH-PAS domains of MOPs 1–4, andARNT. The LexAAHR construct contains the bHLH-PAS domains and the Cterminus minus the transcriptionally active Q-rich region (see Example1, “Materials and Methods”). FIG. 3B, relative interaction of LexAfusion proteins with the AHR or ARNT. Galacto-Light assays wereperformed on yeast extracts prepared from colonies expressing LexAMOPs,LexAAHR, or LexAARNT and ARNT or AHR in the presence and absence of 1 μMβNF. Assays were performed in triplicate, and then the relative lightunits normalized to the LexAAHR-ARNT+βNF condition internally (set as100%). The stippled bars represent LexA fusion proteins co-expressedwith the full-length AHR in the presence of 1 μM βNF, the striped barsrepresent the fusion proteins co-expressed with the full length AHR inthe absence of ligand, the shaded bars indicate the fusion proteinsco-expressed with the full-length ARNT, and the open bar indicatesLexAAHR co-expressed with full-length ARNT in the presence of 1 μM βNF.

FIG. 4. Schematic comparison of homology of PAS family members. Adendrogram was prepared from the primary amino acid CLUSTAL alignmentabove using the MEGALIGN program. The CLUSTAL alignment was performedusing the MEGALIGN program (DNASTAR, Madison, Wis.) with PAM250 weighttable using the following parameters: Ktuple=1, Gap Penalty=3, Window=5.Amino acid boundaries for the residues encompassing the bHLH and PASdomains of the MOPs were defined based on previous observations. Theamino acid boundaries are as follows: huMOP1/HIF1 (91–342), huMOP2(90–342), huMOP3 (148–439), huMOP4 (87–350), huMOP5 (32–296), huAHR(117–385), huARNT (167–464), drSIM (82–356), drPer (232–496) bsKINA(27–248), huSRC-1(115–365), muARNT2 (141–437, muSIM1 (83–331), muSIM2(83–332), drSIMILAR (174–419), and drTRH (145–471). The scale at thebottom indicates number of amino acid residue substitutions. PAS familymembers that interact with HSP90, interact with the AHR, and interactwith ARNT by the coimmunoprecipitation method are indicated by a +,whereas members that do not interact are indicated by a −. An α denotesa bHLH-PAS member whose cDNA is not complete. Note that theseinteractions occur in vitro and may or may not be physiologicallyrelevant. Where appropriate, the reference is included in parentheses.

FIG. 5. The consensus DNA binding site for MOP3-MOP4 heterodimer invitro. Ten selected DNA sequences bound by the MOP3-MOP4 complex areindicated with the E-box core boxed (from top to bottom, SEQ ID NOS:110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 and 119). Underneath, theM34 consensus is indicated (SEQ ID NO:120). Nucleotide positionsrelative to the E-box core are shown. Bases in uppercase are randomerderived, while bases in lower case are primer derived.

FIG. 6. Interaction panel of LexAbHLH-PAS fusion proteins withfull-length MOP3 and ARNT. FIG. 6A: Schematic representation of theLexAbHLHPAS “bait” and the full-length “fish.” The bHLH and PAS domainsare boxed. The “A” and “B” repeats of the PAS domains are indicated. Thetransactivation domain of the full-length “fish” is indicated. FIG. 6B:LexA fusion protein plasmids containing the bHLH-PAS domains of HIF1α,HIF2α, MOP3, MOP4, AHR, ARNT, and CLOCK were coexpressed with plasmidsharboring full-length MOP3 and ARNT (see Materials and Methods). LexAAHRinteractions were assayed on plates containing 1 μM β-naphthoflavone.After incubation, an 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl 13-β-galactoside overlayassay was performed. ++, A strong interaction, turning blue within 2 hr;+, a weaker interaction, turning blue between 8 hr and overnight; and −,a negative interaction after overnight incubation. The experiment wasperformed three times with identical results.

FIG. 7. Cloning of MOP7. The positions of the original EST clone(AA028416) and RACE products are shown as dark lines with the mMOP7 ORFshown as an open box. The PCR primers used are posted below thecorresponding fragments and the plasmid numbers are marked on the side.The GenBank Accession Number for mouse MOP7 cDNA is AF060194.

FIG. 8. The splicing site within mouse MOP7 ORF are compared with thosepreviously reported for mHIF1α and hHIF2α. The numbers of amino acids atwhich the splicing occurs are marked underneath the sequence. Theconserved splicing sites are defined as the splicing sites of HIF1α andHIF2α that are within one amino acid of the corresponding MOP7 splicingsite on the aligned sequence map using CLUSTAL method. These sites aremarked with lines between different ORFs (see GenBank Accession NumbersAF079140-079153 for detailed sequences of mMOP7 splice sites.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

I. Definitions

Various terms relating to the biological molecules of the presentinvention are used hereinabove and also throughout the specificationsand claims. The terms “substantially the same,” “percent similarity” and“percent identity” are defined in detail below.

With reference to nucleic acids of the invention, the term “isolatednucleic acid” is sometimes used. This term, when applied to DNA, refersto a DNA molecule that is separated from sequences with which it isimmediately contiguous (in the 5′ and 3′ directions) in the naturallyoccurring genome of the organism from which it was derived. For example,the “isolated nucleic acid” may comprise a DNA molecule inserted into avector, such as a plasmid or virus vector, or integrated into thegenomic DNA of a procaryote or eucaryote. An “isolated nucleic acidmolecule” may also comprise a cDNA molecule.

With respect to RNA molecules of the invention, the term “isolatednucleic acid” primarily refers to an RNA molecule encoded by an isolatedDNA molecule as defined above. Alternatively, the term may refer to anRNA molecule that has been sufficiently separated from RNA moleculeswith which it would be associated in its natural state (i.e., in cellsor tissues), such that it exists in a “substantially pure” form (theterm “substantially pure” is defined below).

With respect to protein, the term “isolated protein” or “isolated andpurified protein” is sometimes used herein. This term refers primarilyto a protein produced by expression of an isolated nucleic acid moleculeof the invention. Alternatively, this term may refer to a protein whichhas been sufficiently separated from other proteins with which it wouldnaturally be associated, so as to exist in “substantially pure” form.

The term “substantially pure” refers to a preparation comprising atleast 50–60% by weight the compound of interest (e.g., nucleic acid,oligonucleotide, protein, etc.). More preferably, the preparationcomprises at least 75% by weight, and most preferably 90–99% by weight,the compound of interest. Purity is measured by methods appropriate forthe compound of interest (e.g. chromatographic methods, agarose orpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, HPLC analysis, and the like).

With respect to antibodies of the invention, the term “immunologicallyspecific” refers to antibodies that bind to one or more epitopes of aprotein of interest, but which do not substantially recognize and bindother molecules in a sample containing a mixed population of antigenicbiological molecules.

With respect to single stranded nucleic acids, particularlyoligonucleotides, the term “specifically hybridizing” refers to theassociation between two single-stranded nucleotide molecules ofsufficiently complementary sequence to permit such hybridization underpre-determined conditions generally used in the art (sometimes termed“substantially complementary”). In particular, the term refers tohybridization of an oligonucleotide with a substantially complementarysequence contained within a single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule of theinvention, to the substantial exclusion of hybridization of theoligonucleotide with single-stranded nucleic acids of non-complementarysequence.

The term “promoter region” refers to the transcriptional regulatoryregions of a gene. In the present invention, the use of SV40, TK,Albumin, SP6, T7 gene promoters, among others, is contemplated.

The term “selectable marker gene” refers to a gene encoding a productthat, when expressed, confers a selectable phenotype such as antibioticresistance on a transformed cell.

The term “reporter gene” refers to a gene that encodes a product whichis easily detectable by standard methods, either directly or indirectly.

The term “operably linked” means that the regulatory sequences necessaryfor expression of the coding sequence are placed in the DNA molecule inthe appropriate positions relative to the coding sequence so as toenable expression of the coding sequence. This same definition issometimes applied to the arrangement of transcription units and othertranscription control elements (e.g. enhancers) in an expression vector.

II. Characterization of MOPS 1–9

Our hypothesis in accordance with the present invention was thatadditional bHLH-PAS proteins are encoded in the mammalian genome andthat some of these proteins are involved in mediating the pleiotropicresponse to potent AHR agonists like TCDD. It has been observed thatother bHLH superfamilies employ multiple dimeric partnerships to controlcomplex biological processes, such as myogenesis (MyoD/myogenin),cellular proliferation (Myc, Max, Mad) and neurogenesis(achaete-scute/daughterless). The observation that bHLH proteins oftenrestrict their dimerization to within members of the same gene family(i.e., “homotypic interactions”) and that this restriction may occur asthe result of constraints imposed by both primary (e.g., bHLH) andsecondary dimerization surfaces (e.g., leucine zippers and PAS),prompted us to screen for additional bHLH-PAS proteins and test eachprotein for its capacity to interact with either the AHR or ARNT. Theultimate objective was to identify MOPs that were physiologicallyrelevant partners of either the AHR or ARNT in vivo. Our prediction wasthat such proteins might respond to or modulate the AHR signalingpathway or other signaling pathways involving ARNT.

To rapidly identify expressed genes, the “expressed sequence tag” (EST)approach was developed, whereby a cDNA library is constructed andrandomly selected clones are sequenced from both vector arms (Adams etal., Science 252: 1651–1656, 1991). These partial sequences, generally200–400 bp, are deposited in a number of computer databases that can bereadily analyzed using a variety of search algorithms. As of 1996, theI.M.A.G.E. Consortium has deposited over 300,000 human ESTs, generatedfrom different tissues and developmental time periods into publiclyaccessible databases, identifying approximately 40,000 unique cDNAclones (Lennon et al., Genomics 33: 151–152, 1996). The availability ofthese sequences and plasmids harboring their corresponding cDNA clonesprovided a means by which to identify novel members of the bHLH-PASfamily by nucleotide homology screening of available EST databases.

At the time this invention was initiated, the human AHR and ARNT and thedrosophila SIM and PER were the only PAS protein that had beendescribed. Therefore, we used the nucleotide sequences encoding theirPAS domains as query sequences in BLASTN searches of the available ESTdatabases. Using this strategy in an iterative fashion and confirmingeach hit with a reverse BLASTX search, we have identified eight cDNAsreferred to herein as members of the PAS superfamily, or “MOPs”. UsingPCR, we were able to obtain the complete ORFs of MOPs 1–4, and extensivebut incomplete ORFs of MOP5. We have also identified four more MOPs,MOPs 6, 7, 8 and 9, and obtained their complete ORFs.

While MOPs 1–5 were being characterized, Wang and colleagues identifiedtwo factors involved in cellular response to hypoxia, HIF1α and HIF1β.These proteins are identical to MOP1 and ARNT, respectively (Wang etal., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92: 5510–5514, 1995). Thus, of the nineMOPs we have cloned, seven have not been previously characterized. Forconsistency herein, we describe MOP1 extensively, and describeheretofore undisclosed methods of using MOP1.

The experimental approach taken in accordance with the present inventionhas significantly expanded the number of known members of the emergingbHLH-PAS superfamily of transcriptional regulators. Along with the MOPsdescribed herein, five additional mammalian bHLH-PAS proteins have beenidentified, HIF1α (MOP1, as described above), SIM1, SIM2, ARNT2, andSRC-1 (Wang et al., 1995, supra; Hirose et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 16:1706–1713, 1996; Fan et al., Mol. Cell. Neurosci. 7: 1–16, 1996; Ema etal., Mol. Cell. Biol. 16: 5865–5875, 1996; Chen et al., Nat. Genet. 10:9–10, 1995; and Kamei et al., Cell 85: 403–414, 1996). To compare aminoacid sequences of these proteins, we performed a CLUSTAL alignment withthe bHLH-PAS domains of MOPs 1–5 and all the known family members usinga PAM250 residue weight table (Higgins & Sharp, Gene (Amst.) 73:237–244, 1988). The two most related members were MOP1/HIF1α and MOP2,which shared 66% identity in the PAS domain. A comparison of these twoproteins reveals only a single amino acid difference in the basic regionand 83% identity in the HLH region. This sequence similarity is inagreement with our contention (discussed in Example 1) that MOP1/HIF1αand MOP2 function analogously, interacting with the same heterodimericpartners and binding similar enhancer sequences in vivo. A comparison ofMOP3 and ARNT and a comparison of MOP5 and SIM reveal 40% and 38%identity in the PAS domain, respectively. The basic regions of MOP3 andARNT have only three substitutions, while the HLH domains share 66%identity, again suggesting that the two proteins may regulate similar oridentical enhancer sequences (half sites).

A CLUSTAL alignment of the C-termini of MOPs 1–5 and the previouslyidentified PAS members demonstrated that these regions are not wellconserved (data not shown) (Burbach et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89: 8185–8189, 1992). This lack of conservation may indicate that theC-termini of these genes have divergent functions, or that the functionsharbored in the C-termini can be accomplished by a variety of differentsequences. For example, the C-termini of the AHR, ARNT, and SIM allharbor potent transactivation domains, yet display little sequencehomology.

To characterize the evolutionary and functional relationships of theseproteins, we performed a parsimony analysis to identify functionallyrelated subsets. A dendrogram representing the primary amino acidrelationship between the PAS domains of these proteins is illustrated inFIG. 4. This schematic suggests that major groups exist for eukaryoticPAS family members. The AHR, drSIMILAR, MOP1/HIF1α, MOP2, drTRACHEALESS,MOP5, and SIM exist in one group, ARNT, muARNT2, MOP3, and MOP4 inanother and PER and huSRC-1 exist in their own groups. Interestingly,this pattern reflects what is known functionally about the existing PASmembers. The AHR, SIM, MOP1/HIF1α and MOP2 have all been shown toheterodimerize with the ARNT molecule and bind DNA. Additionally, theAHR and SIM are known to interact with HSP90, a chaperonin proteinnecessary for the signaling of the AHR and a number of steroid receptorfamily members in response to ligand. Based on these groupings, MOP5 mayalso be an ARNT-interacting protein and a candidate for interacting withHsp90 and being activated by small molecule ligands. The observationthat ARNT has been shown to be capable of forming DNA binding homodimersand as heterodimers with a number of previously identified members ofthe bHLH-PAS family (at least in vitro), suggests that it plays a rolein a number of biological processes. Based on their similarity withARNT, MOP3 and MOP4 may be candidates for binding DNA as homodimers, orfor interacting with multiple bHLH-PAS members, possibly from the AHRgroup.

In addition to the relevance of the above data to TCDD signaling, theyalso reveal additional factors important to cellular responses tohypoxic stress. HIF1α/MOP1 and MOP2 appear to share a common dimericpartner—ARNT, and are capable of regulating a common battery of genes.This notion is supported by three lines of evidence: (1) both MOP1 andMOP2 interact with ARNT as defined by coimmunoprecipitation ortwo-hybrid assay; (2) they have similar DNA half-site specificities whencomplexed with ARNT; and (3) they are both transcriptionally active fromTACGTG enhancers in vivo. The observation that HIF1α/MOP1 and MOP2 havemarkedly different tissue distributions suggests that these two proteinsmay be regulating similar batteries of genes in response to differentenvironmental stimuli. Alternatively, these proteins may be involved inrestricting expression of certain groups of genes regulated byTACGTG-dependent enhancers. Finally, it is now known that MOP2 and MOP7are subunits of a “HIF1-like” complex (i.e. a “HIF2α” and a “HIF3α,respectively) that regulates hypoxia responsive genes in distinct setsof tissues.

From the foregoing discussion, it can be seen that, while the MOPs sharecertain common features among themselves and with other new members ofthe bHLH-PAS superfamily, each of MOPs 2–9 is a distinctive and uniquemember of that family. cDNA and deduced amino acid sequences for each ofMOPs 1–9 is set forth at the end of this specification. General featuresof each MOP are summarized below. In addition, MOPs 1–5 are described ingreat detail in Example 1, MOP3 is specifically described in Example 2and MOP 7 is described in Example 3.

MOP1: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP1 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 10, respectively. ThecDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP1. As discussed above,MOP1 is known more commonly in the literature as HIF (Hypoxia-InducibleFactor)-1α (Wang et al., 1995, supra). The factor is induced by lowoxygen. It interacts with HSP90 and with ARNT (AHR's binding partner).The ARNT-dimerized factor regulates expression of erythropoietin, amongother genes.

MOP2: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP2 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 11, respectively. ThecDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP2. MOP2 appears to berelated structurally and functionally to MOP1. Similar to MOP1, MOP2interacts with ARNT, but not AHR, and drives transcription in itsARNT-dimerized form. Unlike MOP1, MOP2 does not appear to interactsignificantly with HSP90. MOP2 is induced by low oxygen and may beinvolved in hypoxia responses in different cells and tissues than isMOP1. MOP2 is sometimes referred to herein as HIF2α.

MOP3: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP3 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 3 and 12, respectively. ThecDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP3. MOP 3 and MOP 4 arerelated to each other as binding partners, analogous to ARNT and AHR,respectively. As described in greater detail in Example 2, in additionto being a specific partner for MOP4, MOP3 is a general dimerizationpartner for a subset of the bHLH/PAS superfamily of transcriptionalregulators. MOP3 interacts with MOP4, CLOCK, HIF1α and HIF2α. TheMOP3-MOP4 heterodimer binds a CACGTGA-containing DNA element. Moreover,MOP3-MOP4 and MOP3-CLOCK complexes bind this element in COS-1 cells anddrive transcription from a linked luciferase reporter gene. Ahigh-affinity DNA binding site has also been deduced for a MOP3-HIF1αcomplex (TACGTGA). MOP3-HIF1α and MOP3-HIF2α heterodimers bind thiselement, drive transcription, and respond to cellular hypoxia.

MOP3 also binds HSP90, and may be conditionally activated (like AHR)depending on whether it is bound to HSP90 (see Example 1) (of theMOP3/MOP4 dimerization pair, one appears to be conditionally activated,but as yet it is unclear which one). Evidence from Drosophila and ratsuggest that MOP3 (cycle/bMAL1b) is regulated in a circadian manner.

MOP3 expression appears to be controlled by alternate 5′ promoterregions. MOP3 mRNA expression overlaps in a number of tissues with eachof its four potential partner molecules in vivo.

MOP4: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP4 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 4 and 13, respectively. ThecDNA includes an apparently complete coding sequence for MOP4. MOP4appears to be a human ortholog of a recently identified murine genecalled “Clock”, for its involvement in circadian rhythms (King et al.,Cell 89: 641–653). MOP4 also interacts with HSP90 and, as discussedabove, is the dimerization partner of MOP3, and may be conditionallyactivated. MOP4 appears to be localized in the cytoplasm.

MOP5: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP5 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 5 and 14, respectively. ThecDNA includes a partial coding sequence for MOP5; however a completecoding sequence for MOP5 has become publicly available subsequent to themaking of the present invention (GenBank Accession No. U77968, submittedNov. 11, 1996, published Jan. 21, 1997 by Zhou et al., Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 94: 713–718).

MOP6: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP6 (of human origin) are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 6 and 15,respectively. The cDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP6. Thenucleotide sequence of MOP6 is fairly unique. It is most similar in the5′ region to the bHLH-PAS member trachealess, which suggests that MOP6may be a regulator (developmental or otherwise) of hypoxia. Functionaldata shows that MOP6 forms a partnership with ARNT and drives a hypoxiaresponsive element.

MOP7: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP7 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 7 and 16, respectively. ThecDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP7. In accordance withthis invention, MOP7 has been characterized as a new hypoxia-induciblefactor, and therefore is sometimes referred to herein as HIF3α. Theexpression profile of MOP7 is as follows: testis, thymus>[lung, brain,heart, liver, skeletal muscle]>[skin, stomach, small intestine, kidney].This expression profile is distinct from any of MOP1, MOP2, MOP3, AHRand ARNT, suggesting a different functional role for MOP7. MOP7 is mostclosely related to MOP1/HIF1α and MOP2 (HIF2α), as described in greaterdetail in Example 3. Accordingly, MOP7 is likely to regulate the samegenes as does HIF1α and HIF2α, as evidenced by its dimerization with thesame partners (ARNT, MOP3) and recognition of the same core responseelement. This, combined with the unique tissue-specific expression ofMOP7 suggests that it may have a functional role associated withresponse to low oxygen in the tissues in which it is expressed.

MOP8: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a cDNA encodingMOP8 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 8 and 17, respectively. ThecDNA includes a complete coding sequence for MOP8. Like MOP4 and MOP3,MOP8 may be involved in regulation of circadian rhythm. MOP8 showssequence similarity to other genes involved in the circadian pathway(human PER, Drosophila PER, human RIGUI).

MOP9: The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of a cDNA encodingMOP9 are set forth herein as SEQ ID NOS: 9 and 18, respectively. TwoESTs (GenBank AA577389, AA576971) corresponding to a novel bHLH-PASprotein homologous to MOP3/bMAL1 were identified by TBLASTN searches ofthe Drosophila homolog of MOP3. Upon characterization, these clones wererevealed to be truncated, and one of which appeared to be a splicevariant. The cDNA was cloned from human brain mRNA, and alternative 5′splicing was found probably reflecting multiple promoters. A BLASTXsearch of the MOP 9 sequence reveals that it displays extended homologyto MOP3 (E-154). These data suggest that MOP9 also pairs with CLOCK andMOP4 and binds an E-box element with flanking region specificity.

Although specific MOP clones are described and exemplified herein, thisinvention is intended to encompass nucleic acid sequences and proteinsfrom humans and other species that are sufficiently similar to be usedinterchangeably with the exemplified MOP nucleic acids and proteins forthe purposes described below. It will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that MOP-encoding nucleic acids from diverse species, andparticularly mammalian species, should possess a sufficient degree ofhomology with human MOPs so as to be interchangeably useful in variousapplications. The present invention, therefore, is drawn to MOP-encodingnucleic acids and encoded proteins from any species in which they arefound, preferably to MOPs of mammalian origin, and most preferably toMOPs of human origin. Additionally, in the same manner that structuralhomologs of human MOPs are considered to be within the scope of thisinvention, functional homologs are also considered to be within thescope of this invention.

Allelic variants and natural mutants of SEQ ID NOS: 1–9 or 10–17 arelikely to exist within the human genome and within the genomes of otherspecies. Because such variants are expected to possess certaindifferences in nucleotide and amino acid sequence, this inventionprovides isolated MOP-encoding nucleic acid molecules having at leastabout 65% (and preferably over 75%) sequence homology in the codingregion with the nucleotide sequences set forth as SEQ ID NOS: 1–9 (and,most preferably, specifically comprising the coding regions of any ofSEQ ID NOS: 1–9). This invention also provides isolated MOPs having atleast about 75% (preferably 85% or greater) sequence homology with theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOS: 10–18. Because of the naturalsequence variation likely to exist among the MOPs and nucleic acidsencoding them, one skilled in the art would expect to find up to about25–35% nucleotide sequence variation, while still maintaining the uniqueproperties of the MOPs of the present invention. Such an expectation isdue in part to the degeneracy of the genetic code, as well as to theknown evolutionary success of conservative amino acid sequencevariations, which do not appreciably alter the nature of the protein.Accordingly, such variants are considered substantially the same as oneanother and are included within the scope of the present invention.

For purposes of this invention, the term “substantially the same” refersto nucleic acid or amino acid sequences having sequence variation thatdo not materially affect the nature of the protein. With particularreference to nucleic acid sequences, the term “substantially the same”is intended to refer to the coding region and to conserved sequencesgoverning expression, and refers primarily to degenerate codons encodingthe same amino acid, or alternate codons encoding conservativesubstitute amino acids in the encoded polypeptide. With reference toamino acid sequences, the term “substantially the same” refers generallyto conservative substitutions and/or variations in regions of thepolypeptide not involved in determination of structure or function ofthe protein. The terms “percent identity” and “percent similarity” arealso used herein in comparisons among amino acid sequences. These termsare intended to be defined as they are in the UWGCG sequence analysisprogram (Devereaux et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 12: 387–397, 1984),available from the University of Wisconsin.

The following description sets forth the general procedures involved inpracticing the present invention. To the extent that specific materialsare mentioned, it is merely for purposes of illustration and is notintended to limit the invention. Unless otherwise specified, generalcloning procedures, such as those set forth in Sambrook et al.,Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1989) (hereinafter“Sambrook et al.”) or Ausubel et al. (eds) Current Protocols inMolecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons (1998) (hereinafter “Ausubel etal.”) are used.

III. Preparation of MOP Nucleic Acid Molecules, MOP Proteins andAnti-MOP Antibodies

A. Nucleic Acid Molecules

Nucleic acid molecules encoding the MOPs of the invention may beprepared by two general methods: (1) They may be synthesized fromappropriate nucleotide triphosphates, or (2) they may be isolated frombiological sources. Both methods utilize protocols well known in theart.

The availability of nucleotide sequence information, such as a fulllength cDNA having any of SEQ ID NOS: 1–9, enables preparation of anisolated nucleic acid molecule of the invention by oligonucleotidesynthesis. Synthetic oligonucleotides may be prepared by thephosphoramadite method employed in the Applied Biosystems 38A DNASynthesizer or similar devices. The resultant construct may be purifiedaccording to methods known in the art, such as high performance liquidchromatography (HPLC). Long, double-stranded polynucleotides, such as aDNA molecule of the present invention, must be synthesized in stages,due to the size limitations inherent in current oligonucleotidesynthetic methods. Thus, for example, a several-kilobase double-strandedmolecule may be synthesized as several smaller segments of appropriatecomplementarity. Complementary segments thus produced may be annealedsuch that each segment possesses appropriate cohesive termini forattachment of an adjacent segment. Adjacent segments may be ligated byannealing cohesive termini in the presence of DNA ligase to construct anentire double-stranded molecule. A synthetic DNA molecule so constructedmay then be cloned and amplified in an appropriate vector.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding MOPs may be isolated from appropriatebiological sources using methods known in the art. In a preferredembodiment, cDNA clones are isolated from libraries of human origin. Inan alternative embodiment, genomic clones encoding MOPs may be isolated.Alternatively, cDNA or genomic clones encoding MOPs from other species,preferably mammalian species, may be obtained.

In accordance with the present invention, nucleic acids having theappropriate level sequence homology with the coding regions of any ofSequence I.D. Nos. 1–9 may be identified by using hybridization andwashing conditions of appropriate stringency. For example,hybridizations may be performed, according to the method of Sambrook etal., using a hybridization solution comprising: 5×SSC, 5× Denhardt'sreagent, 1.0% SDS, 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA,0.05% sodium pyrophosphate and up to 50% formamide. Hybridization iscarried out at 37–42° C. for at least six hours. Followinghybridization, filters are washed as follows: (1) 5 minutes at roomtemperature in 2×SSC and 1% SDS; (2) 15 minutes at room temperature in2×SSC and 0.1% SDS; (3) 30 minutes–1 hour at 37° C. in 1×SSC and 1% SDS;(4) 2 hours at 42–65° in 1×SSC and 1% SDS, changing the solution every30 minutes.

One common formula for calculating the stringency conditions required toachieve hybridization between nucleic acid molecules of a specifiedsequence homology (Sambrook et al., 1989):T _(m)=81.5° C.+16.6Log [Na+]+0.41(% G+C)−0.63 (% formamide)−600/#bp induplexAs an illustration of the above formula, using [N+]=[0.368] and 50%formamide, with GC content of 42% and an average probe size of 200bases, the T_(m) is 57° C. The T_(m), of a DNA duplex decreases by1–1.5° C. with every 1% decrease in homology. Thus, targets with greaterthan about 75% sequence identity would be observed using a hybridizationtemperature of 42° C.

Nucleic acids of the present invention may be maintained as DNA in anyconvenient cloning vector. In a preferred embodiment, clones aremaintained in plasmid cloning/expression vector, such as pGEM-T (PromegaBiotech, Madison, Wis.) or pBluescript (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.),either of which is propagated in a suitable E. coli host cell.

MOP nucleic acid molecules of the invention include cDNA, genomic DNA,RNA, and fragments thereof which may be single- or double-stranded.Thus, this invention provides oligonucleotides (sense or antisensestrands of DNA or RNA) having sequences capable of hybridizing with atleast one sequence of a nucleic acid molecule of the present invention,such as selected segments of the cDNA having any of SEQ ID NOS: 1–9.Such oligonucleotides are useful as probes for detecting MOP genes ormRNA in test samples of cells, tissue or other biological sources, e.g.by PCR amplification, or for the positive or negative regulation ofexpression of MOP genes at or before translation of the mRNA intoproteins.

B. Proteins

MOP proteins of the present invention may be prepared in a variety ofways, according to known methods. The proteins may be purified fromappropriate sources, e.g., cultured or intact cells or tissues.

Alternatively, the availability of nucleic acids molecules encoding MOPsenables production of the MOP proteins using in vitro expression methodsknown in the art. For example, a cDNA or gene may be cloned into anappropriate in vitro transcription vector, such a pSP64 or pSP65 for invitro transcription, followed by cell-free translation in a suitablecell-free translation system, such as wheat germ or rabbitreticulocytes. In vitro transcription and translation systems arecommercially available, e.g., from Promega Biotech, Madison, Wis. orBRL, Rockville, Md.

According to a preferred embodiment, larger quantities of MOP proteinsmay be produced by expression in a suitable procaryotic or eucaryoticsystem. For example, part or all of a DNA molecule, such as any of thecDNAs having SEQ ID NOS: 1–9, may be inserted into a plasmid vectoradapted for expression in a bacterial cell (such as E. coli) or a yeastcell (such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae), or into a baculovirus vectorfor expression in an insect cell. Such vectors comprise the regulatoryelements necessary for expression of the DNA in the host cell,positioned in such a manner as to permit expression of the DNA in thehost cell. Such regulatory elements required for expression includepromoter sequences, transcription initiation sequences and, optionally,enhancer sequences.

The MOPs produced by gene expression in a recombinant procaryotic oreucyarotic system may be purified according to methods known in the art.In a preferred embodiment, a commercially available expression/secretionsystem can be used, whereby the recombinant protein is expressed andthereafter secreted from the host cell, to be easily purified from thesurrounding medium. If expression/secretion vectors are not used, analternative approach involves purifying the recombinant protein byaffinity separation, such as by immunological interaction withantibodies that bind specifically to the recombinant protein. Suchmethods are commonly used by skilled practitioners. The MOP proteins ofthe invention, prepared by the aforementioned methods, may be analyzedaccording to standard procedures.

The present invention also provides antibodies capable ofimmunospecifically binding to MOP proteins of the invention. Polyclonalor monoclonal antibodies directed toward any of MOPs 1–9 may be preparedaccording to standard methods. Monoclonal antibodies may be preparedaccording to general methods of Köhler and Milstein, following standardprotocols. In a preferred embodiment, antibodies have been prepared,which react immunospecifically with various epitopes of the MOPs.

Polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies that immunospecifically interactwith MOPs can be utilized for identifying and purifying such proteins.For example, antibodies may be utilized for affinity separation ofproteins with which they immunospecifically interact. Antibodies mayalso be used to immunoprecipitate proteins from a sample containing amixture of proteins and other biological molecules. Other uses ofanti-MOP antibodies are described below.

IV. Uses of MOP-Encoding Nucleic Acids, MOP Proteins and Anti-MOPAntibodies

A. MOP-Encoding Nucleic Acids

MOP-encoding nucleic acids may be used for a variety of purposes inaccordance with the present invention. MOP-encoding DNA, RNA, orfragments thereof may be used as probes to detect the presence of and/orexpression of genes encoding MOPs. Methods in which MOP-encoding nucleicacids may be utilized as probes for such assays include, but are notlimited to: (1) in situ hybridization; (2) Southern hybridization (3)northern hybridization; and (4) assorted amplification reactions such aspolymerase chain reactions (PCR). In addition, recombinant cellularassay systems to examine signal transduction pathways in which the MOPsare involved are described below.

The MOP-encoding nucleic acids of the invention may also be utilized asprobes to identify related genes either from humans or from otherspecies. As is well known in the art, hybridization stringencies may beadjusted to allow hybridization of nucleic acid probes withcomplementary sequences of varying degrees of homology. Thus,MOP-encoding nucleic acids may be used to advantage to identify andcharacterize other genes of varying degrees of relation to therespective MOPs, thereby enabling further characterization the AHR orrelated signaling cascades. Additionally, they may be used to identifygenes encoding proteins that interact with MOPs (e.g., by the“interaction trap” technique, or modifications thereof, as described inExample 1), which should further accelerate elucidation of thesecellular signaling mechanisms.

Nucleic acid molecules, or fragments thereof, encoding MOPs may also beutilized to control the production of the various MOPs, therebyregulating the amount of protein available to participate in cellularsignaling pathways. In one embodiment, the nucleic acid molecules of theinvention may be used to decrease expression of certain MOPs in cells.In this embodiment, full-length antisense molecules are employed whichare targeted to respective MOP genes or RNAs, or antisenseoligonucleotides, targeted to specific regions of MOP-encoding genesthat are critical for gene expression, are used. The use of antisensemolecules to decrease expression levels of a pre-determined gene isknown in the art. In a preferred embodiment, antisense oligonucleotidesare modified in various ways to increase their stability and membranepermeability, so as to maximize their effective delivery to target cellsin vitro and in vivo. Such modifications include the preparation ofphosphorothioate or methylphosphonate derivatives, among many others,according to procedures known in the art.

In another embodiment, the transcription regulation activity of bHLH-PAShomodimers or heterodimers involving MOPs may be blocked by geneticallyengineering a target cell to express a defective MOP—specifically onethat has been modified to be unable to bind DNA. When the defective MOPdimerizes, the dimer is also unable to bind DNA, and therefore is unableto carry out its transcriptional regulatory function.

In another embodiment, overexpression of various MOPs is induced, whichcan lead to overproduction of a selected MOP. Overproduction of MOPs mayfacilitate the isolation and characterization of other componentsinvolved in protein—protein complex formation occurring during theMOP-related signal transduction in cells.

As described above, MOP-encoding nucleic acids are also used toadvantage to produce large quantities of substantially pure MOPproteins, or selected portions thereof.

B. MOP Proteins and Anti-MOP Antibodies

Purified MOPs, or fragments thereof, may be used to produce polyclonalor monoclonal antibodies which also may serve as sensitive detectionreagents for the presence and accumulation of MOPs (or complexescontaining the MOPS) in cultured cells or tissues or in intactorganisms. Recombinant techniques enable expression of fusion proteinscontaining part or all of a selected MOP protein. The full lengthprotein or fragments of the protein may be used to advantage to generatean array of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies specific for variousepitopes of the protein, thereby providing even greater sensitivity fordetection of the protein in cells or tissue.

Polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies immunologically specific for a MOPmay be used in a variety of assays designed to detect and quantitate theprotein. Such assays include, but are not limited to: (1) flowcytometric analysis; (2) immunochemical localization of a MOP in cellsor tissues; and (3) immunoblot analysis (e.g., dot blot, Western blot)of extracts from various cells and tissues. Additionally, as describedabove, anti-MOPs can be used for purification of MOPs (e.g., affinitycolumn purification, immunoprecipitation).

C. Recombinant Cells and Assay Systems

Genetically engineered cells, such as yeast cells or mammalian cells,may be produced to express any one, or a combination, of MOPs describedherein. Such cells can be used to evaluate the binding interactionsbetween MOPs, or between a MOP and another member of the bHLH-PASsuperfamily (e.g., AHR, ARNT), and the requirement for homodimerizationor heterodimerization of the MOPs for initiation of transcriptionalcontrol of a reporter gene driven by appropriate enhancer elements. Inaddition, such recombinant cells can be used to study the effect ofexternal stimuli, such as hypoxia or TCDD, on activation of a selectedMOP, or they can be used to screen panels of drugs for control ofMOP-involved signal transduction pathways. U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,283 toBradfield et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference, describes recombinant cellular systems and assays fordetecting agonists to the AHR. These materials and methods may be usedsimilarly to design recombinant systems for evaluating any of MOP1-MOP8,in the presence or absence of an external stimulant.

Appropriate yeast cells for production of such recombinant systemsinclude Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces pombe. Yeast strainscarrying endogenous functional HSPs may be utilized (e.g., A303 obtainedfrom Rick Gaber, Northwestern University, or commercially availableequivalents). Yeast strains in which the genes encoding HSPs have beendisrupted may also be utilized (e.g., GRS4, obtained from SusanLindquist, University of Chicago), affording an opportunity to examinethe relationship of various MOPs to HSPs.

Appropriate mammalian cells for production of such recombinant systemsinclude COS, Hep3b, HepGr and Hepalclc7 cells, among others.

In one type of assay where the MOP signal transduction pathway isaffected by an external stimulus (i.e. an agonist such as TCDD in theAHR-ARNT system, or cobalt chloride in the MOP1/HIF1α-ARNT system), anappropriate cell can be transformed with an expression plasmidexpressing a full length agonist receptor MOP, along with itsdimerization partner (if the MOP forms heterodimers) and a reporterplasmid expressing a reporter gene, such as LacZ or luciferin, which isdriven by an appropriate enhancer element. The presence or potency of aselected agonist may be determined by its ability to activatetranscription of the reporter gene in the recombinant system.

In another embodiment, a recombinant system that does not rely onheterodimerization can be constructed. In this case, a cell istransformed with an expression plasmid expressing a chimericagonist-sensitive MOP, along with a reporter plasmid expressing areporter gene driven by a suitable promoter. The chimeric MOP ismodified to replace the heterodimerization domains (i.e. the bHLH-PASdomain) with a DNA binding domain, such as LexA or Gal4. Such chimeraswill homodimerize and activate transcription of genes positioneddownstream of LexA or Gal4 binding sites engineered into the reporterplasmid.

In a preferred embodiment, described in detail in Example 1, a modifiedyeast “two hybrid” system is used to assess binding interactions betweenMOPs (and other bHLH-PAS proteins) and the subsequent initiation oftranscriptional control. For instance, as described in Example 1, fusionproteins were constructed in which the DNA binding domain of thebacterial repressor, LexA, was fused to the bHLH-PAS domains of the MOPproteins. Interactions were tested by cotransformation of each LexAMOPconstruct with either the full length AHR or ARNT into the L40 yeaststrain, which harbors an integrated lacZ reporter gene driven bymultiple LexA operator sites. In this system, LexAMOP fusions whichinteract with AHR or ARNT drive expression of the lacZ reporter gene.The effect of various agonists on reporter gene expression can also beevaluated using this system.

Any one or more of the aforementioned recombinant cell systems andassays can be used to screen panels of drugs for their effect onspecific signal transduction pathways. For instance, recombinant systemsemploying any or MOPs 1, 2, 6 or 7 may be used to screen for drugs thatstimulate red blood cell synthesis, angiogenesis or glucose metabolism.

Recombinant systems employing any of MOPs 3, 4, 8 or 9 may be used toscreen for drugs that modify circadian rhythms. In connection with thisembodiment, as described in greater detail in Example 2, we havedetermined the binding sequence for the MOP3/MOP4 heterodimer, and haveconstructed the following recombinant plasmids: PL833, a MOP3 expressionvector for mammalian cells; PL834, a MOP4 expression vector formammalian cells; and PL880, a reporter plasmid (expressing luciferase)driven by the MOP3/MOP4 consensus enhancer sequence GCA_CACGTG_ACC (SEQID NO: 124). When the three plasmids are introduced into a mammaliancell, the reporter gene responds to the presence of the MOP3/MOP4 dimer.This system is used in a high throughput microwell assay to screen forcompounds that are specific activators or inhibitors of thesetranscription factors. A similar system has been established for MOP7(HIF3α), as set forth in Example 3.

The following examples are intended to illustrate embodiments of theinvention. They are not intended to limit the scope of the invention inany way.

EXAMPLE 1 Identification and Characterization of MOPs 1–5 cDNAs andEncoded Proteins

We employed an iterative search of human expressed sequence tags toidentify novel basic-helix-loop-helix-PAS (bHLH-PAS) proteins that mightinteract with either the Ah receptor (AHR) or the Ah receptor nucleartranslocator (ARNT). In this example, we describe the identification andcharacterization of five new “Members of the PAS superfamily,” or MOPs1–5, that are similar in size and structural organization to the AHR andARNT.

Methods

Search Strategy. The bHLH-PAS domains of the huAHR, huARNT, drSIM, andthe PAS domain of drPER were used as query sequences in BLASTN searchesof the GenBank database between December of 1994 and October of 1995,using the following default values: Database=NR, expect=10, wordlength=12 (Altschul et al., J. Mol. Biol. 215: 403–410, 1990).Preliminary experiments comparing AHR and PER led us to define candidateESTs as those “hits” that yielded scores of 150 or higher. As a methodto confirm the similarity of these EST sequences to known bHLH-PASproteins, each candidate EST was subsequently compared to the NR subsetof GenBank using the BLASTX program, matrix=blosum 62, word length=3.Only ESTs that retrieved known bHLH-PAS proteins by this method ofconfirmation were further characterized.

Oligonucleotide Sequences: Sequences of oligonucleotides are givenbelow. In cases where the oligonucleotide was used in gel shift assays,the 6 bp target sequence is underlined.

-   -   OL21 5′ CGAGGTCGACGGTATCG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:19)    -   OL22 5′ TCTAGAACTAGTGGATC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:20)    -   OL124 5′ CCCAAGCTTACGCGTGGTCTTTGAAGTCAACCTCACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:21)    -   OL145 5′ AGCTCGAAATTAACCCTCACTAAAGG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:22)    -   OL176 5′ CGGGATCCTTACACATTGGTGTTGGTACAGATGATGTACTC 3′ (SEQ ID        NO:23)    -   OL180 5′ GCGTCGACTGATGAGCAGCGGCGCCAACATCACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:24)    -   OL201 5′ GATAAGAATGCGGCCGCAGATCTGGGTCCGAAGCACACG 3′ (SEQ ID        NO:25)    -   OL202 5′ CATTACTTATCTAGAGCTCG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:26)    -   OL226 5′ CGGGATCCTCATGGCGGCGACTACTGCCAACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:27)    -   OL365 5′ GACAGTTGCTTGAGTTTCAACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:28)    -   OL386 5′ TTATGAGCTTGCTCATCAGTTGCC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:29)    -   OL387 5′ CCTCACACGCAAATAGCTGATGG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:30)    -   OL392 5′ CCGCTCGAGTGATGAGCAGCGGCGCCAACATCACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:31)    -   OL393 5′ CCGCTCGAGTGGCAGCTACAGGAATCCACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:32)    -   OL404 5′ GCGGTACCGGGACCGATTCACCATGGAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:33)    -   OL414 5′ TCGAGCTGGGCAGGGTACGTGGCAAGGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:34)    -   OL415 5′ TCGAGCCTTGCCACGTACCCTGCCCAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:35)    -   OL418 5′ GTAAAACGACGGCCAGT 3′ (SEQ ID NO:36)    -   OL419 5′ GGAAACAGCTATGACCATG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:37)    -   OL443 5′ TCGAGCTGGGCAGGGTGCGTGGCAAGGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:38)    -   OL444 5′ TCGAGCCTTGCCACGCACCCTGCCCAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:39)    -   OL445 5′ TCGAGCTGGGCAGGTCACGTGGCAAGGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:40)    -   OL446 5′ TCGAGCCTTGCCACGTGACCTGCCCAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:41)    -   OL447 5′ TCGAGCTGGGCAGGTTGCGTGGCAAGGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:42)    -   OL448 5′ TCGAGCCTTGCCACGCAACCTGCCCAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:43)    -   OL450 5′ TACTGGCCACTTACTACCTGACC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:44)    -   OL456 5′ AACCAGAGCCATTTTTGAGACT 3′ (SEQ ID NO:45)    -   OL477 5′ GCTCTAGAGGCCACAGCGACAATGACAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:46)    -   OL479 5′ GATCGGAGGTGTTCTATGAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:47)    -   OL489 5′ TTAGGATGCAGGTAGTCAAACA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:48)    -   OL496 5′ GTTCTCCATGGACCAGACTGA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:49)    -   OL499 5′ CGGGTACCCTGGGCCCTACGTGCTGTCTC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:50)    -   OL500 5′ CGGCTAGCCTCTGGCCTCCCTCTCCTTGATGA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:51)    -   OL514 5′ CTGGGAGCCTGCCTGCCTTCA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:52)    -   OL520 5′ CCCAAGGAGAGGCGTGAT 3′ (SEQ ID NO:53)    -   OL540 5′ GGGATCCTCGTCGCCACTG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:54)    -   OL541 5′ ATGCAGTACCCAGACGGATTTC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:55)    -   OL560 5′ TGCACGGTCACCAACAGAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:56)    -   OL561 5′ TTGCCAGTCGCATGATGGA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:57)    -   OL565 5′ CTGAACAGCCATCCTTAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:58)    -   OL568 5′ AGCTTGCCCTACGTGCTGTCTCAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:59)    -   OL569 5′ AATTCTGAGACAGCACGTAGGGCA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:60)    -   OL590 5′ AGAGGTGCTGCCCAGGTAGAA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:61)    -   OL611 5′ CAATGATGAGGGAAACACTG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:62)    -   OL657 5′ CGGGATCCCGTCAACTGGAGATGAGCAAGGAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:63)    -   OL665 5′ CTGCAAAAATCCGATGACCTCTT 3′ (SEQ ID NO:64)    -   OL681 5′ CGGGCAGCAGCGTCTTC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:65)    -   OL682 5′ GCGTCCGCAGCCCCAGTTG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:66)    -   OL683 5′ TTCAATGTTCTCATCAAAGAGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:67)    -   OL684 5′ GAACAGTTTTATAGATGAATTGGC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:68)    -   OL689 5′ GAGGTGTTTCAATTCATCGTCT 3′ (SEQ ID NO:69)    -   OL715 5′ GGGATCCGTGACCGATTCACCATGGAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:70)    -   OL716 5′ CTGCAGGTCACACAACGTAATTCACACA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:71)    -   OL717 5′ GGGATCCGTATGACAGCTGACAAGGAG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:72)    -   OL718 5′ GGTCGACGTCACAGGACGTAGTTGACACA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:73)    -   OL719 5′ GAATCCATGAGCAAGGAGGCCGTG 3′ (SEQ D NO:74)    -   OL720 5′ GGTCGACGTCAAACAACAGTGTTAGTTGA 3′ (SEQ BD NO:75)    -   OL721 5′ GGGATGCGTATGGATGAAGATGAGAAAGAC 3′ (SEQ ID NO:76)    -   OL722 5′ GGTCGACGCTAGACCGAGTGTGTGCA 3′ (SEQ ID NO:77)

Cloning strategy. To obtain extended open reading frames for each EST,an anchored-PCR strategy was employed to amplify additional flankingsequence from a variety of commercial cDNA libraries that wereconstructed in the phagemid Lambda Zap (Tissues; HepG2, Fetal Brain andSkeletal Muscle; Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) (Table 1) (Innis et al.(eds), PCR Protocols: a Guide to Methods and Applications, AcademicPress, San Francisco, 1990). The resulting PCR products were subjectedto agarose gel electrophoresis, transferred to a nylon membrane andanalyzed by hybridization with a ³²P-labeled probe generated from thecorresponding parent EST plasmid (Table 1). After autoradiography, thepositive PCR products were purified by gel electrophoresis and clonedusing the pGEM-T vector system (Promega, Madison, Wis.). Dideoxysequencing was performed to characterize each positive clone.

TABLE 1 MOP cDNA Clone Information    Row 1: clones (in parentheses)containing the candidate ESTs were requested from their laboratory oforigin.    Row 2: the Genbank accession number for each original EST isindicated.    Row 3: oligonucleotides used in library screening.Sequence information generated from this original clone was used todesign oligonucleotides for use in an anchored PCR strategy, wherebygene-specific and vector-specific primers were used to amplify 5′ and 3portions of the cDNA. Vector specific primers corresponded to modifiedT3 (5′, OL145) or T7 (3′, OL146) primers. A matrix of gene- specificprimers against annealing temperature (50–65° C.) was attempted for eachclone, generally leading to at least one successful reaction.    Row 4:the cDNA libraries from which additional sequence of positive clones wasidentified.    Row 5: size of ORFs. We define a complete ORF by thepresence of an in-frame stop codon 5′ to a methionine codon that lieswithin a Kozak consensus sequence for translational initiation. The 3′end of open reading frames are defined by the presence of an in- frametermination codon. An asterisk (*) denotes a clone which does not meetthese criteria (see text).    Row 6: Genbank accession numbers of thefinal MOP cDNAs are given. MOP1/HIF1α MOP2 MOP3 MOP4 MOP5 LaboratoryBell IMAGE IMAGE Liew IMAGE of origin (hbc025) (67043) (23820, (F9047,(42596) (clone 50519) PL420) desig.) EST T10821 T70415 T77200, R58054R67292 Genbank H17840 accession number Gene- OL365 (5′) OL456 (5′) OL489OL520 OL540 specific OL496 (3′) (5′) (5′) (5′) oligo used OL514 (3′) inPCR OL541 (3′) Library HepG2 HepG2 Fetal HeLa HepG2 screened brain ORFsize 826 870 624 642* 412* (a.a.'s) Final cDNA U29165 U51626 U51627U51625 U51628 Genbank accession number

Plasmid Construction for Expression in Vivo. Sequence information fromeach EST was used to design PCR primers for the amplification of cDNAfrom commercially available libraries. Expression plasmids wereconstructed by standard protocols (Sambrook et al., 1989). For a summaryof clone designations, PCR primers, DNA templates and GenBank accessionnumbers, refer to Table 1. A brief description follows.

MOP1 expression vectors. Oligonucleotides OL404 and OL365 were used asprimers in a PCR to amplify a 970 bp fragment from a HepG2 cell cDNAlibrary. This fragment was cloned into the pGEM-T vector in the T7orientation and designated PL439. To generate pGMOP1, the SalIXhoIfragment of hbc025 was subcloned into SalI digested PL439. To increasetranscription efficiency of the MOP1 cDNA, pGMOP1 was digested with KpnIand SacI and this fragment subcloned into the corresponding sites ofpsputk generating PL415 (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) (Falcone &Andrews, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11: 2656–2664, 1991). The complete ORF of theMOP1 cDNA was amplified using the PCR and oligonucleotides OL425 andOL536. This fragment was digested with BamHI and ligated into the BamHIsite in the psport polylinker (Life Technologies, Inc.). This plasmidwas designated PL611.

MOP2 expression vectors. PCR was employed using OL477 and OL450 toamplify a 931 bp MOP2 fragment from a HepG2 cDNA library. This fragmentwas cloned into pGEM-T in the SP6 orientation and designated PL424.Using OL560 and OL590, PCR amplification from this same library yieldeda 3′ fragment of the MOP2 cDNA. This fragment was cloned into pGEM-T inthe SP6 orientation and was designated PL445. PL424 was digested SalIand EcoRI and the fragment ligated into a SalI/EcoRI digested PL445 togenerate a full ORF MOP2 expression vector designated PL447. Thecomplete ORF of the MOP2 cDNA was cloned into psport as follows; PL447was digested with SaclI, treated with the Klenow fragment of DNAPolymerase I in the presence of dNTPs, and subsequently digested withSalI. This fragment was purified and ligated into pSport digested withHindIII, repaired with Klenow, then digested with SalI. This constructwas designated PL477.

MOP3 expression vectors. Using the primers OL145 and OL489 and a humanfetal brain cDNA library as template, the PCR was used to obtain a 1380bp fragment. This fragment was isolated and cloned into pGEM-T as above,and this plasmid designated PL487. A fragment of MOP3 was obtained bythe PCR using Pfu polymerase (Stratagene), primers OL657 and OL689 andPL487 as template. To obtain a full length MOP3 cDNA fragment, themegaprimer fragment obtained above was used in the PCR againstoligonucleotide OL611 using IMAGE clone 50519 as a template (Sarkar &Somers, Biotechniques 8: 404–407, 1990). This product was cloned intopGEM-T in the SP6 orientation as above and designated PL425.

MOP4 expression vectors. Using primers OL520 and OL145 and a HepG2 cDNAlibrary as template, the PCR was performed to isolate a 5′ fragment ofthe MOP4 cDNA. This fragment was cloned in the T7 orientation of pGEM-Tand designated PL448. The cDNA insert of the phage clone F9047 (C. C.Liew, Toronto, Calif.) was amplified by the PCR using oligonucleotidesOL418 and OL419 and subcloned into the pGEM-T vector (Hwang et al., J.Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 26: 1329–1333, 1994). This clone was designatedPL420. An EcoRI fragment of PL448 was isolated and cloned into apartially EcoRI digested PL420. This clone was subjected to the PCR witholigonucleotides OL698 and OL146, and the fragment cloned into thepGEM-T vector, and designated PL545.

MOP5 expression vectors. The PCR was used to obtain a 1260-bp fragmentof the MOP5 gene using oligonucleotides OL685 and OL686 and IMAGE clone42596 as template. This fragment was purified and subcloned into thepGEM-T vector as above in the SP6 orientation. This plasmid wasdesignated PL528 and subsequently digested with SalI and partiallydigested with NcoI. This fragment was ligated into Nco I/SalI-cutpsputk, and the resulting vector designated PL554.

Hypoxia responsive luciferase reporters. The plasmid pGL2EPOEN wasconstructed as follows: The hypoxia responsive enhancer from the 3′region of the EPO gene was amplified by PCR using oligonucleotides OL499and OL500 and human genomic DNA as template (amplified fragmentcorresponds to nucleotides 127 to 321 as reported in the EPO structuralgene sequence found in GenBank Accession GBL16588). This fragment wasdigested with KpnI and NheI and cloned into the corresponding sites ofthe plasmid pGL2-Promoter (Promega).

Antibody Production. Antisera against MOP1, MOP2, AHR and ARNT wereprepared in rabbits using immunization protocols that have beendescribed previously (Poland et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 39: 20–26, 1991;Pollenz et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 45: 428–438, 1994). Crude antisera waschosen for use in all coimmunoprecipitation experiments and the PI serafrom the same rabbit served to preclear the samples. For MOP1, theplasmid hbcO25 was digested with EcoRI and the 604 bp fragment wastreated with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase-1 in the presence ofdNTPs and cloned into the SmaI site of the histidine tag fusion vectorpQE-32 (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.). This clone, designated PL377, wastransformed by electroporation into M15(REP4) cells for expression underIPTG induction. The expressed protein was purified from 8 M urea usingNi-NTA agarose, extensively dialyzed against 25 mM MOPS, pH 7.4, 100 mMKCl, and 10% glycerol before its use as an immunogen. For AHR, the humancDNA clone PL71 (Dolwick et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 44: 911–917, 1993) wasdigested with BamHI and cloned into the corresponding site of thehistidine fusion vector pQE31 (Qiagen). The AHR protein fragment wasexpressed and purified exactly as described for MOP1 (above). Antiserumproduced against this protein was designated R2891. For MOP2 a SacI/PstIfragment of PL445 was cloned into SacI/PstI cut pQE-31 to generatePL456. This clone, designated PL456, was transformed into M15(REP4)cells and the protein expressed under IPTG induction. The histidinetagged fusion protein was first extracted in guanidine hydrochloride,dialyzed extensively and purified on Ni-NTA agarose as above. Antiserumproduced against this protein was designated R4064. ARNT-specificantisera was raised against huARNT protein purified from baculovirus aspreviously described (Chan et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269: 26464–26471,1994).

Northern Protocol. Multiple tissue northern blots containing 2 μg ofpoly(A)+ mRNA prepared from human heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver,skeletal muscle, kidney, and pancreas were probed with random primedcDNA fragments using an aqueous hybridization protocol (Clontech, PaloAlto, Calif.). Hybridization solution contained 5×SSPE (0.75 M NaCl, 50mM NaH₂PO₄, 5 mM Na₂EDTA, pH 7.4) 2× Denhardt's solution (0.04% w/vFicoll 400, 0.04% w/v polyvinylpyrrolidone, 0.04% w/v Bovine SerumAlbumin), 0.5% SDS, and 100 ug/mL heat denatured salmon sperm DNA. Ablot was prehybridized for 3–6 hours at 65° C., the hybridizationsolution was changed and 1–5×10⁶ cpm/mL of a random primed cDNA fragmentwas added. Samples were hybridized overnight at 65° C., washed twicewith 2×SSC (0.3 M NaCl, 30 mM Na₂Citrate, pH 7.0), 0.5% SDS at roomtemperature, once with 1×SSC, 0.1% SDS at the hybridization temperature,and once with 0.1×SSC, 0.1% SDS at the hybridization temperature.

Yeast Two-Hybrid Analysis. A modified yeast interaction trap wasemployed to identify those MOPs that could interact with the AHR orARNT. LexAMOP chimeras were constructed to fuse the bHLH-PAS domains ofthe MOP proteins with the DNA binding domain of the bacterial proteinLexA (amino acids 1–202) (Bartel et al., BioTechniques 14: 920–924,1993). To amplify the region corresponding to the bHLH-PAS domains ofMOP1, OL715 and OL716 were employed in the PCR using PL415 as template.To amplify the region corresponding to the bHLH-PAS domains of MOP2,OL717 and OL718 were employed in the PCR using PL447 as template. Toamplify the region corresponding to the bHLH-PAS domains of MOP3, OL719and OL720 were employed in the PCR using PL486 as template. To amplifythe region corresponding to the bHLH-PAS domains of MOP4, OL721 andOL722 were employed in the PCR using PL545. Since a more detailed domainmap existed for the AHR, a construct was made with a fine deletion ofthe transactivation domain. The N-terminal portion of the AHR wasamplified by the PCR using oligonucleotides OL180 and OL124 and pmuAHRas template (Dolwick et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 8566–8570,1993). This product was digested with KpnI and SalI, and cloned into thecorresponding sites of pSG424 (Sadowski & Ptashne, Nucl. Acids Res. 17:7539, 1989). This clone was designated PL187. The 3′ end of the AHR cDNAwas amplified by PCR using oligonucleotides OL201 and OL202 and pmuAHRas template. This product was digested with NotI, and cloned into thecorresponding site of pSGAhN-delta-166 (Dolwick et al, Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 90: 8566–8570, 1993). This clone was designated PL188. PL188was digested with KpnI and XbaI, and this fragment cloned into thecorresponding sites of PL187. This clone was designated PL204. A cDNAfragment of the AHR was amplified by the PCR using OL392 and OL393 andPL204 as template. This product was cloned using the pGEM-T system, anddesignated pGTAHR-delta-TAD. This construct was digested with XhoI andthis fragment ligated into SalI cut pBTM116 (Vojtek et al., Cell 74:205–214, 1993). This construct was designated pBTMAHR. LexAARNT wasconstructed by PCR using oligonucleotides OL226 and OL176 and PL87 astemplate. The PCR product was cloned into pGEM-T as above, and the BamHIfragment cloned into a BamHI digested pGBT9 vector (Clontech). Thisconstruct was cut with BamHI and subcloned into a BamHI digestedpBTM116. This construct was designated LexAARNT. Following amplificationthese products were purified and cloned into the pGEM-T vector. Theseclones were designated PL537 (MOP1), PL538 (MOP2), PL539 (MO3), andPL540 (MOP4). These plasmids were digested with BamHI/PstI (PL537),BamHI/SalI (PL538 and PL540), and EcoRI/SalI (PL539), and thesefragments ligated into the appropriately digested pBTM116. These cloneswere designated LexAMOP1, LexAMOP2, LexAMOP3, and LexAMOP4,respectively. Full length expression plasmids harboring the AHR and ARNTwere constructed as follows: PL104 (psporthuAHR) was cut with SmaI, theinsert purified and subcloned into SmaI site of pCW10, and this plasmidwas designated PL317. This clone was digested with SmaI and subclonedinto a SmaI cut pRS305, and this clone designated PRSAHR. The ARNT cDNA(PL101) was digested with Not I and XhoI, and cloned into thecorresponding sites of pSGBMX1. This plasmid was designated PL371, andsubsequently was digested with NotI and XhoI, this fragment cloned intothe corresponding sites of pSGBCU11. This clone was designated PL574.The LexAMOP fusion protein constructs were cotransformed with a yeastexpression vector containing the full length AHR or ARNT into L40, ayeast strain containing integrated lacZ and HIS3 reporter genes. Ascontrols, LexAAHR and LexAARNT were cotransformed with AHR and ARNT. Thestrength of interaction was visually characterized by X-Gal(5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-(-D-galactoside) plate assays, performedafter three days growth on selective media (Bohen et al, Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. USA 90: 11424–11428, 1993). To provide quantitation of theinteraction strength, multiple colonies from yeast harboring eachbHLH-PAS combination colonies were grown overnight in liquid media.Liquid cultures were grown for 5 hours, and assayed for lacZ activityusing the Galacto-Light chemiluminescence reporter system (Tropix,Bedford, Mass.). To determine the effect of AHR agonists on theseinteractions, yeast were also grown on plates or in liquid culture withand without 1 μM βNF (Carver et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269: 30109–30112,1994).

To ensure expression of each bHLH-PAS construct, western blot analysiswas performed using antibodies raised against the LexA DNA bindingdomain. Yeast extracts were prepared from 15 mL overnight culturesderived from multiple colonies of yeast expressing each LexAMOP fusionprotein. Cultures were subjected to centrifugation at 1200×g for 5minutes and the pellet was resuspended in 500 μL of 6 M Guanidinium-HCl,0.1 M Na-Phosphate Buffer, 0.01 M Tris pH 8.0. This suspension wastransferred to a fresh eppendorf tube containing 500 μL of acid washedglass beads (Sigma), and mixed on the max setting in a Bead-Beater(BioSpec, Bartlesville, Okla.) for 3 minutes at 4° C. The samples werecleared by centrifugation at 14,000×g, and 400 μL of supernatant wasprecipitated with 400 μL of 10% TCA on ice. After clearing bycentrifugation at 14,000×g for 20 minutes at 4° C., the extracts wereresuspended in SDS loading buffer and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis.Following electrophoresis, proteins were transferred to nitrocellulosemembrane and detected with LexA antisera and secondary antibodies linkedto alkaline phosphatase by standard protocols (Jain et al., J. Biol.Chem 269: 31518–31524, 1994).

Transient Transfection of Hep 3b Cells. pGL2EPOEN was cotransfected withpSport, PL464 (pSportMOP1), or PL477 (pSportMOP2) using the Lipofectinprotocol (Life Technologies, Inc.). Briefly, the expression vector wasmixed with the epo-reporter and the beta-galactosidase control plasmidpCH110 (Clontech) at a 3:1 charge ratio of TFX-50 reagent (Promega) andincubated for 15 minutes at room temperature. The lipofection media (200μL) was added to Hep3b cells in 4 cm plates in the presence of serum.The cells were incubated at 37° C. for 2 hr. Following incubation, freshmedia was added, and the cells were incubated for an additional 48 hoursprior to harvesting. Cell extraction and beta-galactosidase assays wereperformed using the Galacto-Light assay according to manufacturer'sprotocols (Tropix).

Coimmunoprecipitation with Hsp90. Each MOP construct was in vitrotranslated in the presence of [³⁵S]-methionine in a TNT coupledtranscription/translation system (Promega). Hsp90 immunoprecipitationassays were performed with monoclonal antibody 3G3p90 or a control IgMantibody, TEPC 183 (Sigma) essentially as described. Eachimmunoprecipitation was subjected to SDS-PAGE, and the resulting gel wasdried. The level of radioactivity in each coprecipitated protein bandwas quantified on a Bio-Rad GS-363 Molecular Imager System. The amountof protein immunoprecipitated with the Hsp90 antibody is presented as apercentage of the amount of murine AHR immunoprecipitated in parallelassays.

Results

EST Search. Our initial BLAST searches in December 1994 were performedwith the bHLH-PAS or PAS domains of all family members known at thattime (AHR, ARNT, SIM and PER). In these searches we identified an ESTclone, hbc025, derived from human pancreatic islets (Table 1) (Takeda etal., Hum. Mol. Genet. 2: 1793–1798, 1993). To confirm this similarity,we performed a BLASTX search, comparing hbc025 to the GenBank databaseand found that this sequence was most homologous to Drosophila SIM. ThisEST clone was designated MOP1. The bHLH-PAS domains of all familymembers, including MOP1, were again searched from May to October of1995. Human ESTs that recorded BLASTN scores above 150 were againretrieved and confirmed using the BLASTX algorithm. This routineresulted in the discovery of six ESTs with significant homology to thebHLH-PAS domains of known members (Table 1).

cDNA Cloning. In order to more completely characterize the similaritiesand domain structures of the candidate clones, an anchored-PCR strategywas employed to obtain additional flanking cDNA sequence using phagemidlibraries as a template. Comparison of amino acid sequences of thesebHLH-PAS proteins is displayed in FIG. 2. Upon characterization of theopen reading frames, it was learned that two of these ESTs (F06906 andT77200) corresponded to the same gene product (Table 1). Thus, wedesignated these remaining five unique cDNAs as “Members of PASsuperfamily” or MOPs 1–5. The PCR strategy provided what appeared to bethe complete ORFs of MOP1, MOP2 and MOP3 based upon the followingcriteria: (1) at their 5′ ends these clones contain an initiationmethionine codon (AUG) downstream of an in-frame stop codon, and (2) attheir 3′ ends these clones contain an in-frame stop codon followed by noobvious open reading frames. In addition, the nucleotide sequencesflanking of the MOP1 and MOP2 most 5′ AUG codons (see GenBank accessionsU29165 and U51626) are in reasonable agreement with the proposed optimalcontext for translational initiation, i.e., CCACCAUGG (Kozak, Cell 44:283–292, 1986; Kozak, Nucl. Acids Res. 15: 8125–8132, 1987).

Using the same anchored-PCR technique, we were unable to obtain thecomplete open reading frames of MOP4 or MOP5. This may have been due tothe low copy number of these mRNAs in the tissues from which our PCRsource cDNA was obtained (see below). We did identify a potential startmethionine for MOP4 and the 3′ stop codon for MOP5 (FIG. 2). Ourpreliminary designation of the MOP4 start methionine is tentative and isbased only on its proximity to the start methionines of MOP1, MOP2,MOP3, AHR and SIM (FIG. 2) (Burbach et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89: 8185–8189, 1992; Nambu et al., Cell 67: 1157–1167, 1991). The factthat only one of the six nucleotides flanking the MOP4 AUG codon(ATTTAATGG) matches the consensus sequences for optimal translationalinitiation provides an indication that a more 5′ initiation codon mayexist. Therefore, the initiation codon of MOP4 is uncertain and that ofMOP5 remains to be identified. This low level expression is consistentwith our difficulties in amplifying these cDNAs by PCR (see above) andsuggests that expression may be limited to specific cell types ordevelopmental time periods not identified in our study.

Tissue Specific Expression. To characterize the tissue specificexpression patterns of the MOP mRNAs, Northern blots of poly A(+) RNAfrom eight human tissues were probed with random primed cDNA restrictionfragments. Single transcripts of 3.6 kb (MOP1/HIF1α), 6.6 kb (MOP2) and3.2 kb (MOP3) were detected. Expression levels of each mRNA variedsignificantly between tissues, with MOP1 being highest in kidney andheart, MOP2 highly expressed in placenta, lung, and heart, and MOP3highly expressed in skeletal muscle and brain. No detectable message wasdetected for MOP4 or MOP5 by our northern blot protocol.

Identification of Novel AHR or ARNT Partners:

1. Interaction of MOPs with the AHR and ARNT in vitro;Coimmunoprecipitation experiments. We first performedcoimmunoprecipitation experiments to determine if MOPs 1–4 had thecapacity to interact with either the AHR or ARNT in vitro. Theseproteins were expressed in a reticulocyte lysate system in the presenceof ³⁵S-methionine and then incubated in the presence or absence of theAHR or ARNT. Complex formation was assayed by coimmunoprecipitation withAHR or ARNT specific antisera, followed by quantitation ofcoimmunoprecipitated ³⁵S-labeled MOP by phosphoimage analysis.Interactions were identified by a reproducible increase in an AHR orARNT-dependent precipitation of MOP protein. Because we have observedconsiderable variability in this coimmunoprecipitation assay, eachexperiment was performed at least three times.

In the AHR interaction studies, we observed that MOP3 wascoimmunoprecipitated with AHR. The positive control, ARNT-AHRinteraction, was also reproducible, but weaker. Neither MOP1, MOP2 orMOP4 could be shown to interact with the AHR by this protocol. The ARNTprotein displayed a broad range of interactions and was shown tocoimmunoprecipitate with AHR (positive control), MOP1 and MOP2, but notMOP3 or MOP4.

2. Interaction of MOPs with the AHR and ARNT in vivo; Yeast two-hybridexperiments. To determine if MOP-AHR or MOP-ARNT complexes could form invivo, a modified interaction trap was employed (Fields & Song, Nature340: 245–246, 1989; Chien et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:9578–9582, 1991) (FIG. 3). Fusion proteins were constructed in which theDNA binding domain of the bacterial repressor, LexA, was fused to thebHLH-PAS domains of the MOP proteins (FIG. 3A). The bHLH-PAS domainswere chosen because they harbor both the primary and secondarydimerization surfaces of this family of proteins and they do not harbortranscriptional activity that would interfere with this assay (Jain etal., 1994, supra). Interactions were tested by cotransformation of eachLexAMOP construct with either the full length AHR or ARNT into the L40yeast strain, which harbors an integrated lacZ reporter gene driven bymultiple LexA operator sites. In this system, LexAMOP fusions whichinteract with AHR or ARNT drive expression of the lacZ reporter gene.

We assessed the relative strength of these interactions by both a directlacZ plate assay and by quantitation of the reporter activity in aliquid culture (FIG. 3). In all cases, these two methods of detectionwere equivalent. To test the validity of this model system as a methodto detect bHLH-PAS interactions, LexAAHR and LexAARNT constructs werecotransformed with either the full length ARNT or AHR. In these controlexperiments, we were able to demonstrate the specificity of AHR-ARNTinteraction and its dependence on the presence of the agonist βNF. TheLexAAHR-ARNT interaction in the presence of βNF was 913 fold abovebackground, while the LexAARNT-AHR interaction in the presence of βNFwas 14 fold above background. Both combinations showed ligandinducibility. The LexAAHR-ARNT interaction in the presence of βNF was6.4 fold over LexAAHR-ARNT in the absence of ligand, while theLexAARNT-AHR interaction in the presence of βNF was 2.0 fold overLexAARNT-AHR in absence of ligand. Despite our ability to readily detectthe agonist-induced LexAARNT-AHR interaction in the two hybrid system,we were unable to detect any LexAMOP that could interact with the AHR.That is, none of the LexAMOP fusion proteins appeared to interact withcotransformed AHR and drive lacZ expression in the absence or presenceof ligand.

Two of four MOP proteins tested were found to interact with ARNT in thetwo hybrid assay. Both the LexAMOP1 and LexAMOP2 interactions with fulllength ARNT were extremely robust, 36 and 28 fold above background,respectively (FIG. 3B). When compared with the LexAAHR-ARNT interactionin the presence of βNF, the LexAMOP1-ARNT and LexAMOP2-ARNT interactionswere 24% and 69% as intense. These differences in LexAMOP1-ARNT andLexAMOP2-ARNT interaction could be attributed to differences inexpression levels or to subtle differences in vector construction. Tocontrol for relative expression of the LexAMOP fusions, protein extractswere prepared and western blot analysis was performed with LexA specificantisera. We observed expression for each LexAMOP fusion proteins,indicating that negative results with LexAMOP3 and LexAMOP4 are not dueto lack of expression.

3. DNA binding and specificity. Prompted by the observation that MOP1and ARNT and MOP2 and ARNT specifically interact, we next examined theability of MOP-ARNT dimeric complexes to bind those DNA responseelements recognized by other bHLH-PAS protein complexes. Reports from anumber of laboratories have demonstrated that bHLH-PAS dimers can bindto a variety of DNA elements: “DRE,” TNGCGTG (Denison et al., J. Biol.Chem. 264: 16478–16482, 1989); “CME,” ACGTG (Wharton et al., Development120: 3563–3569, 1994); “SAE,” GTGCGTG (Swanson et al., J. Biol. Chem.270: 26292–26302, 1995); and “E-box,” CANNTG (Sogawa et al., Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. USA 92: 1936–1940, 1995; Swanson et al., 1995, supra). Usinga gel-shift assay, we observed that MOP1-ARNT complexes specificallybound CACGTG and TACGTG, while the complex failed to bind GTGCGTG,TTGCGTG, and a non-palindromic E-box, CATGTG. Previous reports havedemonstrated that ARNT homodimers are capable of binding the CACGTGsequence in vitro, and that this complex can drive reporter geneexpression in vivo (Sogawa et al., 1995 supra, Swanson et al., 1995,supra). Our results suggest that the MOP1-ARNT dimeric complex binds theCACGTG oligonucleotide with a higher affinity than either MOP1 or ARNTalone. MOP1 failed to form a productive DNA binding complex with the AHRwith any of the bHLH-PAS family response elements. As a comparison ofMOP1-ARNT and MOP2-ARNT DNA binding, we provide results from gel shiftassays using a double-stranded oligonucleotide containing a core TACGTGhexad binding site. WE observed that both MOP1-ARNT and MOP2-ARNT boundthe TACGTG-containing oligonucleotide with approximately equal capacityand neither ARNT, nor MOP1, nor MOP2 could bind this DNA sequence alone.As additional controls, we confirmed the presence of the MOP proteins inthe complex by showing that antisera raised against these proteinsretarded the mobility of the complex.

4. Interaction of MOPs with Hsp90. In an effort to assess a MOP'sability to interact with Hsp90, we performed coimmunoprecipitationassays with anti Hsp90 antibodies. Given the remarkable stability of theHsp90 complex with the AHR from the C57BL/6J mouse, we used thisreceptor species as a reference and compared all interactions relativeto it. As additional controls, we immunoprecipitated ARNT and the humanAHR as negative and positive controls, respectively. Despite our abilityto readily detect huAHR-Hsp90 interactions, we were unable to detectARNT, MOP2 or MOP5 interactions with Hsp90. In contrast, huAHR, MOP1,MOP3 and MOP4 all immunoprecipitated with HSP90-specific antisera. MOP3formed the tightest interaction with HSP90, followed by the huAHR, MOP4and MOP1 (71%, 53%, 31% and 17%, respectively).

Discussion

Since cDNAs encoding the complete open reading frames for MOPs 1–3 wereavailable, most of the studies described in this example focused onthose proteins. MOP4 was also included in some studies since our clonecontained the sequences involved in dimerization, transcriptionalactivation and DNA binding of other bHLH-PAS proteins. Given the limitedsequence information on MOP5, this clone was typically not included infunctional studies.

Tissue specific expression. We observed that each MOP mRNA displayed aunique tissue specific distribution with MOP1 being highest in kidneyand heart, MOP2 highly expressed in placenta, lung, and heart, and MOP3highly expressed in skeletal muscle and brain. Previous studiesconducted in our laboratory indicated that ARNT is expressed highly inskeletal muscle and placenta, while the AHR is most prevalent inplacenta, lung, and heart (Carver et al., 1994, supra; Dolwick et al.,1993, supra). The observation that these bHLH-PAS proteins arecoexpressed in a variety of tissues supports the idea that cross talkbetween these signaling pathways may be occurring in vivo and thatmultiple tissue specific interactions may be taking place. We alsoobserved that AHR and MOP2 have very similar expression profiles inhuman tissues. An additional and equally important interpretation ofthese unique MOP expression profiles is that unidentified partners existfor these bHLH-PAS proteins and that they regulate a number ofundescribed biological pathways.

Interactions. Our interaction screening strategy was based on the largeamount of functional data and the detailed domain maps available for theAHR and ARNT. An important assumption used in the design andinterpretation of our studies is that some of the MOPs may beconstitutive interactors in vivo (like ARNT) and others may beconditional interactors that require activation in order to dimerize invivo (like AHR). We chose to employ coimmunoprecipitation as an initialinteraction screen for a number of reasons. First, AHR and ARNT-specificantibodies are available that have been shown to pull down AHR-ARNTcomplexes. This suggests that if MOP-AHR or MOP-ARNT interactionsoccurred in vitro, that these same antibodies would recognize and pulldown such complexes. Second, data from a number of laboratories, usingindependently derived antibodies indicates that coimmunoprecipitation ofAHR-ARNT complexes is independent of AHR-ligand. This observationsuggests that AHR or ARNT interactions with conditional MOP proteinsmight still be identified by coimmunoprecipitation even in the absenceknowledge about how to activate a conditional MOP (e.g., identificationof a ligand).

As a secondary screen to characterize interacting MOPs, we employed ayeast interaction trap commonly referred to as the “Two Hybrid Assay”.Support for use of this system comes from our previous observation thatLexA-AHR chimeras are functional in yeast and provide a good model ofAHR signaling and ARNT interaction. In addition, this method provides anindependent confirmation of those interactions identified bycoimmunoprecipitation and also provides a demonstration thatinteractions can occur in vivo. One major limitation of this system isthat it may be insensitive at detecting conditional MOPs that requireactivation prior to dimerization. An example of this can be seen withthe AHR and ARNT. In the absence of ligand, the AHR appears to resideprimarily in the cytosol and ARNT appears to be primarily nuclear. Thiscompartmentalization appears to be part of a cellular mechanism toprevent interaction of these proteins and minimize constitutive activityof the complex. It is important to point out that compartmentalizationis only one component of AHR regulation, since ligand dependent DNAbinding does occur in vitro in the presence of ARNT. Nevertheless, invivo systems like the Two Hybrid Assay may yield false negative resultsfor conditional MOP protein interactions that require an upstreamactivation event prior to nuclear transloction.

In light of the above considerations, our interpretation of thecoimmunoprecipitation and two hybrid interaction results were asfollows: First, since the MOP1-ARNT and the MOP2-ARNT interactions wereconfirmed in two independent systems these interactions should bepursued further (see below). Second, the observation that MOP3 interactwith the AHR in vitro, but not in vivo, suggests that MOP3 may be aconditional MOP that has the capacity to interact with the AHR in vivo.This idea gained support from Hsp90 interaction studies (below). Third,the suspicion that MOP3 is a conditional bHLH-PAS protein, coupled withthe observation that MOP3 and AHR have the disparate expression profilesled us to delay study of this interaction until we learn how to activateMOP3 or until we have evidence that these two proteins are expressed inthe same cell type. Fourth, our observation that ARNT can form dimerswith two out of four MOPs examined suggests that ARNT is a highlypromiscuous bHLH-PAS partner that may be a focus of cross talk betweendifferent MOP signaling pathways. The multiplicity of ARNT partnershipsis supported by recent observations from a number of laboratories(Sogawa et al, 1995, supra; Swanson et al., 1995, supra).

MOP1 and MOP2 interactions with ARNT. The concordance of thecoimmunoprecipitation and two hybrid data led us to pursue the MOP1-ARNTand MOP2-ARNT interactions further. Given the pairing rules deduced fromthe interaction studies described above, we next attempted to determineif the MOP1-ARNT and MOP2-ARNT complexes bound specific DNA sequences invitro. Earlier reports indicated that the basic region of each bHLHpartner generates specificity for a distinct DNA half-site of at least 3bp. Data from a number of laboratories has indicated that the ARNTprotein displays specificity for the 3′ GTG half site of the hexadtarget sequence, 5′NNCGTG3′, where 5′NNC is the half site of the ARNTpartner. To determine the half site specificity of the MOP1 protein whencomplexed with ARNT, we used gel shift analysis with oligonucleotidescontaining substitutions at the two variable 5′ positions of 5′NNCGTG3′.These preliminary experiments indicated that MOP1-ARNT complex hadgreatest affinity for the 5′CAC and 5′TAC half sites.

Because the MOP1 and MOP2 basic regions differed by only one amino acidresidue and since this residue is not thought to be in a DNA contactposition, we hypothesized that MOP2 would bind the same DNA sequences.To confirm this, we performed MOP2-ARNT gel shift assays using a doublestranded oligonucleotide containing a core TACGTG hexad binding site. Weobserved that both MOP1-ARNT and MOP2-ARNT bound the TACGTG containingoligonucleotide, that neither MOP1 nor MOP2 could bind this sequence inthe absence of ARNT. As additional controls, we confirmed the presenceof the MOP1 and MOP2 proteins in the complex by showing that antiseraraised against these proteins retarded the mobility of the complex.

To assay MOP1-ARNT and MOP2-ARNT interactions in vivo, we constructed aluciferase reporter driven by the hypoxia responsive TACGTG containingenhancer from the human EPO gene. Our transient expression experimentsin Hep3B cells consisted of cotransfection of this reporter with vectorcontrol, MOP1, or MOP2 in the presence or absence of cobalt chloride tostimulate the hypoxia heme sensor. ARNT has been shown previously to beexpressed in Hep3B cells. This experiment confirmed that theTACGTG-containing enhancer sequence is responsive to cobalt andcotransfected MOP1 or MOP2 under normal oxygen tension. The transfectedMOP1 construct appeared to be responsive to hypoxia (3.5-fold overcontrol), while the MOP2 construct was only slightly responsive(1.2-fold). MOP2 was more potent than MOP1 in driving expression of thisreporter gene both in the presence and absence of cobalt chloride. Thisdifference in efficacy of the MOP1 and MOP2 reporter plasmid in Hep3Bcells could be explained by three possibilities: (1) the relativepotency of the MOP2 transactivation domain may be much greater thanMOP1; (2) the relative expression of MOP2 may be greater in thistransient expression system than MOP1; or (3) the MOP1 may be partiallyrepressed in vivo, by HSP90, while MOP2 is not (see HSP90 discussionbelow). Given that our MOP2 antisera are not useful in western blots, wecould not assess the relative expression or stability of the MOP1 andMOP2 clones in this system.

MOP3 is a conditionally active bHLH-PAS protein. Data from a number oflaboratories suggests that Hsp90 represses AHR activity by anchoring thereceptor in the cytosol away from its nuclear dimeric partner ARNT.Ligand binding appears to weaken the Hsp90 association and induce atranslocation of the Hsp90-AHR complex to the nucleus where dimerizationwith ARNT can occur.

Two lines of evidence suggest that MOP3, like the AHR, may be aconditionally active bHLH-PAS protein and that in the absence of anunidentified cognate ligand, might be repressed and unable to dimerizein vivo. First, MOP3 interacts with HSP90 even more efficiently thanhuman AHR, suggesting that MOP3 may be functionally repressed oranchored in the cytosol like the AHR. Second, MOP3 interacts with AHR inthe coimmunoprecipitation assay, but not in the yeast interaction trap.Similarly, the AHR interacts with ARNT in the coimmunoprecipitationassay, but interacts weakly, if at all, in the absence of ligandactivation.

Alternative explanations for the different MOP3-AHR interaction resultsobtained from our in vitro and in vivo systems should also beconsidered. For example, the structure of MOP3 may be different than theAHR and ARNT, such that positioning of the LexA domain adjacent to thebHLH-PAS domain may sterically hinder dimerization surfaces within thisprotein or lead to improper subcellular localization or instability ofthe chimera. One example of the potential negative impact of contextsensitivity in the two-hybrid system can be observed in FIG. 3. TheLexAAHR-ARNT interaction is 14.7 times more robust than the LexAARNT-AHRinteraction. In addition, the LexAAHR-ARNT interaction is moreresponsive to the AHR ligand βNF than the LexAARNT-AHR combination(6.4-fold and 2.0-fold, respectively). This difference cannot beexplained by the relative transactivation potencies of thetransactivation domains of AHR and ARNT in yeast, and therefore must bethe result of context sensitivity. A final consideration is thatcoimmunoprecipitations may be capable of detecting weak interactionsthat cannot be maintained at the low cellular concentrations of thevarious MOPs. Thus, the MOP3-AHR dimerization may be too weak to occurin vivo. In this regard, we have previously reported ARNT—ARNThomodimers that bind specific DNA enhancer sequences in vitro, but theyare weakly active, if active at all, in vivo (Swanson et al., 1995,supra).

It is also important to note that MOP1 and MOP4 also interact with HSP90in the coimmunoprecipitation assay, albeit less strongly than MOP3 orhuman AHR. The relatively weak interaction of MOP1 with HSP90 may be anindication that this protein is partially repressed in vivo and that itmay have both constitutive and conditional activity. Such a phenomenonmight explain why MOP1 has less transcriptional activity in our in vivosystems than MOP2, which does not interact with HSP90. Finally, MOP4 didnot interact with the AHR or ARNT in either the coimmunoprecipitationassay or the interaction trap. Although our experience with AHRindicates that interactions with conditional bHLH-PAS proteins can beobserved by coimmunoprecipitation assays, MOP4's interaction with HSP90may also indicate a requirement for activation and may inhibit thesensitivity of detecting interactions in vivo.

EXAMPLE 2 MOP3 Forms Transcriptionally Active Complexes with Circadianand Hypoxia Factors

As described above, a number of “orphan” bHLH-PAS proteins have emergedfrom searches of expressed sequence tag databases and low stringencyhybridization screens. For newly discovered bHLH-PAS proteins that haveclose homologs (e.g., HIF1α and HIF2α (MOP2), or ARNT and ARNT2),partnering and DNA binding specificity can often be predicted from aminoacid sequence similarities in their bHLH-PAS domains. For divergentorphans like MOP3, MOP4, and MOP5, amino acid sequence does not providethe information necessary for similar predictions. To characterize thisclass of orphans, we have employed a series of assays that allow us to:(i) identify heterodimeric partnerships, (ii) determine the DNA responseelement bound by these heterodimers, (iii) verify that these complexesdrive transcription in mammalian cells, and (iv) identify those tissueswhere these partnerships may occur. This example describes applicationof this approach to two bHLH-PAS orphans, MOP3 and MOP4.

Materials and Methods

Reagents. Oligonucleotides were supplied by GIBCO/BRL and designated asfollows:

-   -   OL522 5′-GACAGTATCACGCCTCTCCTT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:78)    -   OL579 5′-AGCGGCGTCGGGATAAAATGA-3′ (SEQ ID NO:79)    -   OL595 5′-ATGCTGAACTGTGCCGAAAACTGT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:80)    -   OL656 5′-GAACAGTGGGGTGGGTCCTCTTT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:81)    -   OL990 5′-GGAATTCTGAGTCTGAAC-3′ (SEQ ID NO:82)    -   OL991 5′-GGAATTCCACGCTCAGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:83)    -   OL992 5′-GGAATTCTGAGTCTGAAC(N)13CCTGAGCGTGGATTCC-3′ (SEQ ID        NO:84)    -   OL116 5′ GATCGGACACGTGACCATTGGTCACGTGTCCATTGGACACGTGACC-3′ (SEQ        ID NO:85)    -   OL117 5′-GATCGGTCACGTGTCCAATGGACACGTGACCAATGGTCACGTGTCC-3′ (SEQ        ID NO:86)    -   OL155 5′-GATCGGATACGTGACCATTGGTTACGTGTCCATTGGATACGTGACC-3′ (SEQ        ID NO:87)    -   OL156 5′-GATCGOTCACGTATCCAATGGACACGTAACCAATGGTCACGTATCC-3′ (SEQ        ID NO:88)

The yeast LexA fusion plasmid pBTM116 was provided by P. Bartel and S.Fields (State University of New York, Stony Brook). The yeast strain L40was a kind gift of S. Hollenberg (Fred Hutchinson Cancer ResearchCenter, Seattle, Wash.). The yeast strain AMR70 was constructed by RolfStemglanz, and was a kind gift of S. Hollenberg. LexA antiserum was akind gift of J. W. Little (University of Arizona). pSGBCU11 was a kindgift of Stephen Goff (CIBA-Geigy, Research Triangle Park, N.C.). HumanCLOCK was a kind gift of T. Nagase (Kazusa DNA Research Institute,Chiba, Japan). Mammalian expression vectors were purchased fromGIBCO/BRL (pSVSport) and Promega (pTarget). Antibodies specific for MOP3and MOP4 were prepared against peptides specific for each protein asdescribed (Poland et al., 1991, Mol. Pharmacol. 39: 20–26). The MOP3peptide sequence was DNDQGSSSPSNDEAAC (SEQ ID NO:125) and the MOP4peptide sequence was KDKGSSLEPRQHFNALDVGC (SEQ ID NO:126).

Expression Plasmid Construction. Yeast expression plasmids harboring theLexA DNA binding domain fused to the bHLH-PAS domains of HIF1α (PL856),HIF2α (PL857), MOP4 (PL859), AHR (PL739), and ARNT (PL701) have beendescribed (Example 1). LexAbHLH-PAS fusion plasmids for MOP3 (PL831) andCLOCK (PL828) were constructed in pBTM116 by an identical approach.Plasmids harboring the full-length ORFs of MOP3, MOP4, and CLOCK wereconstructed by PCR amplification of the ORF of each cDNA and cloned intothe appropriate vectors for expression in yeast or mammalian systems.For yeast expression of full-length proteins, PCR products were clonedinto the appropriate sites of pSGBCU11. For mammalian expression, PCRproducts were cloned into pSVSport and pTarget. The yeast expressionvector for full-length ARNT has been described (PL574) (Example 1). Theyeast expression vector for full-length MOP3 was designated PL694.Mammalian expression vectors for ARNT (PL87), HIF1α (PL611), and HIF2α(PL447) have been described (Example 1; Jain et al., 1994, J. Biol. Chen269: 31518–31524). Mammalian expression vectors were constructed forMOP3 (PL691 and PL861), MOP4 (PL695 and PL871), and CLOCK (PL941).

Two-Hybrid cDNA Library Screen. The yeast interaction trap was performedusing the yeast strain L40 (MATa, his3Δ200, trpl-901, leu2–3, 112, ade2,LYS::lexAop₄HIS, URA3::lexAop₈lacZ) or AMR70 (MATα, his3, lys2, trp1,leu2, URA::lexAop₈-lacZ) as described (Example 1; Carver and Bradford,1997, J. Biol. Chem. 272: 11452–11456; Vojtek et al., 1993, Cell 74:205–214). The bait plasmid (PL859) was a fusion of the bHLH-PAS domainof MOP4 to the DNA binding domain of LexA (Hogenesch et al., 1997,supra). The MOP4 bait construct was used to screen a human fetal braincDNA library fused to the transactivation domain of Gal4 (CLONTECH) andtransformants were plated on selective media (minus tryptophan, uracil,histidine, and leucine). The cDNAs from surviving colonies, positive forlacZ activity were sequenced by the chain termination method (Sanger etal., 1977, PNAS 74: 5463–5437). These sequences were analyzed using theBLAST algorithm (Altschul et al., 1990, J. Mol. Biol. 215: 403–410).

Interaction Screen Against Known bHLH-PAS Proteins. LexAbHLH-PAS fusionproteins (“baits”) of HIF1α, HIF2α, MOP3, MOP4, AHR, ARNT, and CLOCKwere transformed into the L40 strain of yeast. The full-length (“fish”)MOP3 and ARNT plasmids were transformed into the AMR70 yeast strain, andthese transformants were plated onto yeast complete media plates (Kaiseret al., 1994, in Methods in Yeast Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor Press,Plainview, N.Y.). The L40 yeast harboring the bait constructs werereplica plated onto these yeast complete media plates and mated for 8 hrat 30° C. The plates were then replica plated onto selective media andgrown for an additional day at 30° C. 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl13-D-galactoside (X-Gal) overlay assays were performed to determine therelative expression of the lacZ reporter gene (Bohen and Yamamoto, 1993,PNAS 90: 11424–11428). Western blot analysis, using LexA-specific sera,was performed on extract from each transformant to confirm expression ofthe fusion protein (see Example 1).

DNA Binding Specificity. To determine high-affinity DNA binding sitesfor MOP3-MOP4 heterodimers, site selection and amplification wasperformed as described (Swanson et al., 1995, J. Biol. Chem. 270:26292–26302). Briefly, reticulocyte lysate expressed MOP3 and MOP4proteins (−0.5 fmol each) were incubated with DNA oligonucleotiderandomers corresponding to −7×10⁷ different nucleotide sequences.Randomers were generated and amplified by PCR using oligonucleotidesOL990 and OL991 as primers and OL992 as template. After incubating thecomplexes with the randomers for 30 min at 30° C., samples were loadeddirectly on 4% polyacrylamide-TBE (90 mM Tris/64.6 mM boric acid/2.5 mMEDTA, pH 8.0) gels to separate MOP3-MOP4 bound DNA from free DNA(Swanson et al., 1995, supra). Gel slices corresponding to the migrationof bound DNA were excised, incubated overnight in TE (10 mM Tris/1 mMEDTA, pH 8.0), and the eluate subjected to additional PCR usingoligonucleotides OL990 and OL991.

Cell Culture and Transient Transfection. Transient transfections ofCOS-1 cells were performed by the Lipofectamine protocol (GIBCO) asdescribed in Example 1. To mimic hypoxia, 100 μM of cobalt chloride wasincluded in the cell growth media and incubated at 37° C. until harvest.To monitor the transcriptional activity of the MOP3-MOP4 or MOP3-CLOCKheterodimers, a synthetic reporter was constructed by annealingphosphorylated oligonucleotides OL1116 and OL1117 and cloning them intothe BglII site in the reporter plasmid pGL3p (Promega). To measure thetranscriptional activity of the MOP3-HIF1α or MOP3-HIF2α heterodimers, asynthetic reporter was constructed by annealing phosphorylatedoligonucleotides OL1155 and OL1156 and then cloning them as above.Luciferase levels were reported in relation to β-galactosidase activityas described in Example 1.

mRNA Expression Analysis. To generate antisense riboprobes, partialcDNAs of the mouse MOP3 and MOP4 were cloned into plasmid vectorsharboring bacteriophage promoters. A partial 1.2-kb mouse fragment ofMOP3 was obtained by PCR of a mouse kidney cDNA library usingoligonucleotides OL579 and OL656, and cloned into pGEM-T in the T7orientation. For MOP4, reverse transcription-PCR was performed on 3 μgof E17.5d placenta total RNA with oligonucleotides OL522 and OL595. Theresultant fragment was subcloned in PGEM-T in the 5P6 orientation. TotalRNA from various mouse tissues was prepared using the Trizol reagent(GIBCO/BRL) according to manufacturer's protocols. Ribonucleaseprotection assay (RPA) was performed as described for both MOP3 and MOP4(Luo et al, 1997, Gene Expression 6: 287–299). For in situ analysis,sense and antisense MOP3 and MOP4 riboprobes were generated with[α-[³⁵S]thio]UTP, 80 μCi (Amersham, >1,000 Ci/mmol; 1 Ci=37 GBq) as theradioactive ribonucleotide and subjected to alkaline hydrolysis for 13min at 60° C. as described (Jain et al., 1998, Mech. Dev. 73: 117–123).Tissue sections (5 μm) were processed and hybridized with the specificriboprobes (Jain et al., 1998, supra).

Results

MOP4 Two-Hybrid Library Screen. The MOP4 bait plasmid was used to screena human fetal brain cDNA library fused to the transactivation domain ofGal4. After screening −7×10⁵ colonies, 21 survived selection and wereblue in the presence of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside.BLAST searches revealed that seven of these clones represented fourindependent MOP3 cDNA fragments. These cDNAs differed in their first 57codons from the MOP3 cDNA we have described previously (GenBankaccession no. U60415; SEQ ID NO:3). These 57 amino acids are identicalto that reported by a second group, and appear to be derived from asecond promoter (Ikeda and Nomura, 1997, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.233: 258–264). All subsequent functional studies were done usingconstructs derived from the MOP3 cDNAs identified by the yeastinteraction trap.

MOP3 and MOP4 Screened Against Known bHLH-PAS Proteins. To confirm thespecificity of the MOP3-MOP4 interaction, we reversed the interactiontrap strategy and screened full-length MOP3 against all bHLH-PASproteins available in this laboratory. As a positive control we comparedthese results to a parallel screen using full-length ARNT. Western blotanalysis using anti-LexA sera indicated approximately equal expressionlevels for all fusions. The full-length MOP3 protein interacted stronglywith LexAbHLH-PAS fusions of MOP4, CLOCK, and HIF2α and weakly withHIF1α (FIG. 6). No interaction of full-length MOP3 could be detectedwith LexA fusions of MOP3, AHR, ARNT, or the LexA control. Full-lengthARNT demonstrated robust interactions with HIF2α and the AHR, and weakerinteractions with HIF1α. We did not detect full-length ARNT interactionswith LexAbHLH-PAS fusions of MOP3, MOP4, CLOCK, ARNT, or the LexAcontrol (FIG. 6).

DNA Binding Specificity of the MOP3-MOP4 Heterodimer. We performed aselection and amplification protocol to identify the DNA sequence boundwith high-affinity by the MOP3-MOP4 complex. After three rounds ofselection and amplification, a gel shift assay was performed usingradiolabeled selected randomers to identify the migration of thecomplex. We identified a species dependent on the presence of bothproteins. A band corresponding to this migration was excised from thepolyacrylamide gel, and used as template for a fourth round ofamplification before cloning the pool. Analysis of the sequencing datafrom 10 clones revealed that the MOP3-MOP4 heterodimeric pair bound thesequence G/TGA/GACACGTGACCC (SEQ ID NO:120) (FIG. 5). This sequence isan imperfect palindrome containing a core E-box enhancer element(defined as CANNTG, underlined) and specificity for nucleotides in theflanking region (e.g., +4 “A”). We refer to this response element boundby the MOP3-MOP4 as M34. To demonstrate sequence binding specificity andto confirm the selectivity for the +4 nucleotide, we performedcompetition experiment varying the +4 position to A, C, G, or T (FIG.5). In agreement with our selection results, we observed a strongpreference for the flanking +4 “A” nucleotide by the MOP3-MOP4 complex.

MOP3 Forms Transcriptionally Active Complexes with MOP4 and CLOCK. Todemonstrate that both MOP3 and MOP4 are required for binding to the M34element, we performed additional gel shift experiments. A specific bandwas present only with the combination of MOP3 and MOP4, and was notpresent with either protein alone. As an additional specificity control,affinity-purified anti-MOP3 or anti-MOP4-specific Igs were used in gelshift experiments. Both MOP3-specific and MOP4-specific IgG were capableof retarding the mobility of the MOP3-MOP4 complex, while purifiedpreimmune IgG alone was not.

To determine whether the MOP3-MOP4 complex could drive transcription invivo, we constructed a vector with three copies of the M34 elementupstream of a minimal simian virus 40 promoter-luciferase reporter. Uponcotransfection of the reporter plasmid into COS-1 cells with MOP3 andMOP4, we observed that this combination enhanced transcription 3.3-fold,while neither protein alone was capable of driving transcription overcontrol. The observations that CLOCK also interacted with MOP3 in theyeast interaction trap (FIG. 5) and that CLOCK shares extensive homologywith MOP4 prompted us to determine if MOP3-CLOCK complex could alsodrive transcription in vivo from an M34 element. Cotransfection of MOP3and CLOCK revealed that this complex was also active, drivingtranscription 5.6-fold over control. Transfections with MOP3, MOP4,CLOCK, and ARNT alone, as well as combinations of ARNT and MOP3 or MOP4failed to drive transcription over control.

MOP3 Forms Functional DNA Binding Complexes with HIF1α and HIF2α.Prompted by our yeast interaction results, we set out to determine theability of MOP3 to form DNA binding complexes with HIF1α in vitro.Because of the asymmetry at the +4 position of the M34 element, we wereuncertain which half-site was bound by MOP3. Therefore, we synthesizedenhancer elements with the HIF1α 5′ half site (TAC) fused to both of thepotential MOP3 3′ half-sites described above (GCCCTACGTGACCC, SEQ IDNO:121 or GCCCTACGTGTTCC; SEQ ID NO:122). We found that the HIF1α/MOP3complex preferred the GCCCTACGTGACCC (SEQ ID NO: 123) element in vitro,suggesting that MOP3 preferred an “A” at the +4 position. Therefore thecorresponding response element bound by the HIF1α-MOP3 complex, which werefer to as M13, was used in subsequent experiments. The resultsdemonstrate that the M13 element is bound in the presence of theMOP3-HIF1α combination, but not by either protein alone. MOP3-specificand HIF1α-specific antisera abolished this complex while preimmune IgGdid not. For comparison we included ARINT in these experiments, andfound that ARNT-HIF1α band was more intense than the MOP3-HIF1α complexwhen all proteins were used at equimolar concentrations.

To determine if MOP3 formed a transcriptionally active complex witheither HIF1α or HIF2α in vivo, we constructed a synthetic reporter usingsix copies of the M13 element described above. The M13 reporter wasup-regulated when cotransfected with combinations of MOP3-HIF1α andMOP3-HIF2α (3.3-fold and 3.6-fold, respectively). ARNT formed moreactive complexes with both HIF1α and HIF2α (14.1-fold and 8.1-fold,respectively), consistent with our in vitro results. Like ARNT, uponexposure of these transfected cells to cobalt chloride to simulatecellular hypoxia, MOP3 interacted and drove transcription in complexeswith both HIF1α and with HIF2α.

Coexpression of MOP3, MOP4, and HIF1α in Neonatal and Adult MurineTissues. To determine if MOP3 was coexpressed with MOP4 in any murinetissue, ribonuclease protection assays (RPA) and in situ hybridizationanalysis were performed. Parallel RPA analysis of neonatal and adulttissues indicated that MOP3 was most highly expressed in brain, thymus,and muscle. MOP4 showed highest expression in the brain. We performed insitu hybridization analysis on tissues where RPA data indicated overlapbetween MOP3 and MOP4, or MOP3 and HIF1α. Sense controls were negativein all tissues except eye, where the pigment of the retina gave anonspecific signal. In transverse sections of E15.5 brain, we observedthat both MOP3 and MOP4 showed their highest expression levels in thethalamus. In E15.5 eye, we were able to detect colocalization of MOP3and HIF1α in the retina, but were unable to detect specific labeling ofMOP4. The results show that both MOP3 and HIF1α are colocalized in thethymic cortex of postnatal animals. Prompted by the observation ofothers that the MOP4 mRNA is expressed at low levels in the colon, weassayed that target tissue and observed that MOP4 and HIF1α werecoexpressed in postnatal colonic mucosa, while MOP3 was undetectablethere (Zhou et al., 1997, PNAS 94: 713–718).

Discussion

In an effort to determine the pairing rules of MOP3 and MOP4, weemployed the yeast interaction trap to identify the bHLH-PAS partners ofthese orphans. Our initial experiment using a MOP4 bait construct toscreen a brain cDNA library identified MOP3 as a partner. In furtherexperiments, we reversed this approach and used full-length MOP3 todetect interactions with other bHLH-PAS members. This analysis confirmedthe MOP3-MOP4 interaction and also demonstrated that CLOCK, HIF1α andHIF2α were additional partners of MOP3. As demonstrated previously, ARNTinteracted with the AHR, HIF1α, and HIF2α, but not with MOP4 or CLOCK.The fact that both MOP4 and CLOCK interacted with MOP3 was notsurprising given their 75% amino acid sequence identity in theirbHLH-PAS domains. The observation that MOP3 was a partner of both HIF1αand HIF2α, but that it did not dimerize with the AHR in the yeastinteraction trap was an unexpected result. Due to lack of expression inour yeast system, we were unable to examine the interactions of MOP3 orMOP4 with a number of additional bHLH-PAS proteins, including mSIM1,mSIM2, hARNT2, and hSRC1. Thus, we do not exclude the possibility thatadditional MOP3 and MOP4 interactions with these proteins may beimportant. Nevertheless, our data lead us to suggest that MOP3 is ageneral partner of a number of bHLH-PAS factors, with a distinctinteraction profile from that of the more well characterized generalpartner ARNT.

Analysis of MOP3 and MOP4 revealed that these proteins did not shareperfect identity with any other known bHLH proteins in their basicresidues thought to contact DNA. Therefore, we could not readily predictthe response elements that the MOP3-MOP4 heterodimer would bind. Toovercome this limitation, we employed a DNA selection and amplificationprotocol and determined that the MOP3-MOP4 complex bound an E-box, withflanking region specificity for an “A” at +4 (i.e., CACGTGA, M34element). In keeping with our prediction that MOP4 and CLOCK arefunctional homologs, transfection experiments demonstrated that thecombination of either MOP3-MOP4 or MOP3-CLOCK was capable of drivingtranscription from M34 elements, while neither MOP3, MOP4, or CLOCKalone displayed this activity. In support of our argument that MOP3harbors a partnering specificity distinct from that of ARNT, we observedthat neither MOP3 nor MOP4 was capable of interacting with ARNT anddriving transcription from the M34 element in its presence.

What could be the consequence of these interactions? Experiments from anumber of laboratories indicate that circadian behavior may be regulatedat the transcriptional level by complex interactions between multiplePAS domain containing proteins. Strong genetic evidence supports a rolefor CLOCK in the maintenance of circadian behavior in mice and theproduct of the period gene (PER) for control of circadian rhythms inDrosophila. The fact that MOP4 is a brain specific homolog of CLOCK andthat these factors share MOP3 as a common dimeric partner suggests thatboth MOP3 and MOP4 may play a role in this process as well. In additionto the mammalian MOP3, MOP4 and CLOCK proteins, murine and humanhomologs of Drosophila PER have recently been characterized. LikeDrosophila PER, the mRNA levels of these mammalian homologs respond tolight and display circadian rhythmicity. Sequence analysis of PERproteins indicates that they contain PAS domains, but do not containconsensus bHLH domains. Coupled with additional biochemical evidencefrom others, these data suggest that PER proteins may affect their owntranscription through interactions mediated by their PAS domains. Thus,these PERs may impact transcriptional activity of other bHLH-PAS dimersby acting as either dominant negative inhibitors that block pairing oftrancriptionally active complexes, or they may act in a positive manneras coactivators of these complexes.

In addition to defining the pairing rules and DNA binding specificitiesof MOP3 and MOP4, our data lead us to a testable model that describescircadian oscillation of transcription. Without intending to limit thepresent invention by any particular explanation of mechanism, wespeculate that MOP3-CLOCK or MOP3-MOP4 complexes regulate PERtranscription through CACGTGA-containing enhancers. The transcriptionalactivity of these promoters could in turn be modified by feedbackinhibition/activation by the PER protein products themselves. In supportof this idea, an E-box element in the Drosophila PER promoter, requiredfor normal cycling of the PER mRNA, bears striking resemblance to theM34 element we have identified (i.e., 5′-CACGTGAGC-3′ compared with5′-CACGTGACC-3′). Given that we are borrowing from both Drosophila andmammalian systems, our model assumes that these signal transductionpathways have been largely conserved throughout evolution. In keepingwith this idea, a search of Drosophila expressed sequence tags revealedthe existence of an uncharacterized MOP4/CLOCK homolog (GenBankaccession no. AA698290) and an uncharacterized MOP3 homolog (GenBankaccession no. AA695336).

What could be the consequences of MOP3-HIF interactions? Transienttransfection experiments showed that MOP3 formed transcriptionallyactive complexes with HIF1α and HIF2α and that these complexes respondedto cellular hypoxia. MOP3 may play a specialized role in hypoxiasignaling. The different tissue specific expression profiles of MOP3 andARNT suggests that MOP3 may regulate cellular responses to hypoxia atdistinct sites, such as the retina, thymic cortex, and thalamus.Moreover, the observation that MOP3 binds a GTG half-site with flankingregion specificity for an “A” at +4, may indicate that MOP3/HIFcomplexes may have greater affinity for a distinct subset of hypoxiaresponse elements (i.e., TACGTGA vs. the more commonly observed TACGTGGelements observed in known hypoxia responsive enhancers). Finally, theobservation that MOP4 is expressed at a site where MOP3 expressionappears low, i.e., colonic mucosa, suggests that additional partners mayexist for MOP4 and CLOCK and that all bHLH-PAS signaling pathways mayinvolve complex equilibria between multiple PAS proteins.

EXAMPLE 3 Chromosomal Localization and Molecular Characterization ofMOP7 as a Third Hypoxia Inducible Factor

Hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) regulate transcriptional responses tolow oxygen tension and other physiological conditions that rely uponglucose for cellular ATP. The HIFs are heterodimeric transcriptionfactors that are composed of two bHLH-PAS proteins. The bHLH-PASsubunits can be classified as α-class or β-class. In addition to aminoacid sequence similarity, the most distinguishing characteristic of theα-class subunits is that they are rapidly up-regulated by cellularhypoxia, or treatment with iron chelators and certain divalent cations(e.g. Co⁺⁺). The previously described α-class subunits are referred toas HIF1α (MOP1 herein) and HIF2α (MOP2 herein). In contrast, theβ-subunits appear to be constitutively expressed and ready to pair withtheir up-regulated α-class partner. Recent evidence suggests that ARNT,ARNT2 and MOP3 are prototype β-class subunits. At the present time, anumber of well-characterized HIF-responsive gene products have beenidentified. These genes include those encoding EPO, VEGF and GLUT1,among others. The promoters of these genes are regulated by HRE elementsthat are recognized by the HIFαβ heterodimer. The HREs contain the coreTACGTG element and are found both 5′ and 3′ to the regulated promoter ina number of hypoxia responsive genes.

It is of academic and practical interest to understand how bHLH-PASproteins signal, as well as the biological consequences that result fromthe sharing of bHLH-PAS partners. The recent generation of thousands ofexpressed sequence tags (ESTs) has provided the opportunity to identifyand classify orphan HIF subunits based upon nucleotide sequencesimilarity with known bHLH-PAS proteins. As the result of these efforts,we have identified, and describe the cloning and characterization below,of a third HIF α-class subunit, referred to above as MOP7. Forconsistency of nomenclature, this protein also is referred to as“HIF3α”. Using a number of biochemical approaches, we demonstrate thatthe MOP 7 (HIF3α) cDNA encodes a protein that meets the major criteriaof an α-class HIF subunit. The observation that multiple HIF α and βsubunits are encoded by the mammalian genome suggests that a complexarray of subunit interactions and tightly controlled developmentalexpression patterns governs transcriptional response to hypoxic stress.

Material and Methods

Gel-shift oligonucleotides. The complementary oligonucleotide pairs usedin gel-shift assays are shown below (5′ to 3′). They contain a constantflanking sequence and the wildtype or mutant HRE core sequence(underlined):

-   -   OL396 TCGAGCTGGGCAGGTAAGGTGGCAAGGC (SEQ ID NO:89)    -   OL397 TCGAGCCTTGCCACGTTACCTGCCCAGC (SEQ ID NO:90)    -   OL398 TCGAGCTGGGCAGGTGAGGTGGCAAGGC (SEQ ID NO:91)    -   OL399 TCGAGCCTTGCCACGTCACCTGCCCAGC (SEQ ID NO:92)    -   OL414 TCGAGCTGGGCAGGGTAGGTGGCAAGGC (SEQ ID NO:93)    -   OL415 TCGAGCCTTGCCACGTACCCTGCCCAGC (SEQ ID NO:94)

PCR Oligonucletides:

-   -   OL1014 GCCATGGCGTTGGGGTGCAG (SEQ ID NO:95)    -   OL1017 ACTGTGTCCAATGAGCTCCAG (SEQ ID NO:96)    -   OL1178 GCCTCCATCATGCGCCTCACAATCAGC (SEQ ID NO:97)    -   OL1210 CCCCGTTACTGCCTGGCCCTTGCTCA (SEQ ID NO:98)    -   OL1323 AGCCGAGGGGGTCTGCGAGTATGTTGC (SEQ ID NO:99)    -   OL1324 GCTGCTGACCCTCGCCGTTTCTGTAGT (SEQ ID NO:100)    -   OL1397 GTCGACGCCACCATGGACTGGGACCAAGACAGG (SEQ ID NO:101)    -   OL1427 GGATCCTCAGTGGGTCTGGCCCAAGCC (SEQ ID NO:102)    -   OL1548 GCGGGGTGCTGGGAGTGGCTGCTAC (SEQ ID NO:103)    -   OL1698 GCCTTCCTGCACCCGCCTTCCCTGAG (SEQ ID NO:104)    -   OL1769 GCGGCCGCAAAAAACAAGACCGTGGAGACA (SEQ ID NO:105)    -   OL1771 GCCCTGGGAGAATAGCTGTTGGACTTTGGGCAATTGCTCACT (SEQ ID        NO:106)    -   OL1772 GCGGCCGCCTATTCTGAAAAGGGGGGAAA (SEQ ID NO:107)    -   AP1 CCATCCTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGC (SEQ ID NO:108)    -   AP2 ACTCACTATAGGGCTCGAGCGGC (SEQ ID NO:109)

Cloning of MOP7. TBLASTN and BLASTX algorithms were used to searchnucleotide sequences corresponding to amino acids 54 to 125 of hHIF1α(http://dot.imgen. bcm.tmc.edu: 9331/seq-search/Options/blast.html)(Hwang et al., J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 26: 1329–1333, 1994). One mouseEST clone, Genbank Accession AA028416 (designated PL773), was found toencode a novel bHLH-PAS protein. To obtain the complete open readingframe, we performed a series of PCR amplifications using primer-anchoredcDNA derived from mouse lung (“Marathon-Ready,” Clontech) (Siebert etal., Nuc. Acids Res. 23: 1087–1088, 1995). A 3′ rapid amplification ofcDNA ends (RACE) reaction was performed using oligonucleotides OL1178and anchor primer AP1. The product of this reaction was reamplified in asecond reaction with OL1178 and AP2. The 2.0-kb 3′ PCR product obtainedby this protocol was cloned into the pGEM Teasy vector (Promega) anddesignated PL970. The clone was sequenced and found to contain an ORFfollowed by a translational stop site (FIG. 7). To confirm the positionof the traslational stop site, OL1324 was used in an independent 3′ RACEreaction. The 0.9 kb product was cloned into a pGEM Teasy vector(PL1017) and was found to contain the same stop codon (FIG. 7). Toobtain the 5′ end of the cDNA, OL1323 was used in a RACE reactionagainst oligonucleotide AP1. The 1.2 kb RACE product was cloned intoPGEM Teasy vector (PL1016) and found to contain a translation startcodon ATG followed by a long ORF. We define the nucleotide A from theinitiation codon as position 1 of the cDNA. In addition, thetranslational start site is defined by the presence of an in-frame stopcodon 51 nucleotides upstream. To generate expression plasmidscontaining the full ORF, a PCR reaction was performed using OL1210 andOL1397 with PL1016 as template. The PCR fragment was cloned into pGEMTeasy vector in the SP6 orientation and named PL1024. The NdeI digestedPL1024 was then inserted into the NdeI digested PL970 to generate thefull-length HIF 3α in the pGEM-Teasy vector (PL1025).

Construction of MOP7 expression plasmids. For MOP7 expression inmammalian cells, the ORF was amplified by PCR using OL1397 and OL1427with PL1025 as template. The resultant plasmid was cloned into pTargetvector downstream of the CMV promoter (Promega) and was named PL1026(FIG. 7).

To confirm the hypoxia inducibility of MOP7, we constructed a fusionprotein comprised of the DNA binding domain from GAL4 (residues 1–147),the predicted hypoxia responsive domain-1 (HRD1) from mMOP7 (residues453–496), and the transactivation domain (TAD) from hARNT (residues581–789). The HRD1 was amplified using OL1769 and OL1771 with mMOP7 astemplate. To form the HRD1/TAD chimera, the resultant PCR fragment fromabove was used as a megaprimer in a second PCR reaction with OL1772 asthe second primer and hARNT as the template (Barik et al., Biotechniques10: 489–490, 1991). The HRD1/TAD chimeric fragment was cloned into theNotI site of the GAL4 fusion vector pBIND (Promega) and designatedPL1131.

Structural gene analysis and chromosomal localization. The MOP7 insertfrom PL773 was cut with EcoRI/NdeI and the 0.6-kb fragment was purifiedand used as a probe to screen for bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)clones containing the mouse MOP7 gene (Genome Systems, Inc.).Oligonucleotides derived from the mMOP7 sequence were used as primers tosequence the BAC DNA, and the splice sites were deduced by comparing thegenomic and cDNA sequences. To obtain BACs containing the human MOP7,oligonucleotides OL1014 and OL1017 were used in a PCR reaction withhuman heart cDNA as template (Clontech) to amplify a MOP7 fragment(Genbank Accession No. AF079154). This fragment was subcloned into thepGEM-Teasy vector, confirmed by sequencing, and used as a probe toscreen for a BAC clone harboring the human structural gene for MOP7 asabove. The identity of the resultant BAC was confirmed by directsequencing using primers specific for hMOP7. The human MOP7 chromosomallocation was identified by PCR reactions against human/hamster somaticcell hybrid DNA using human MOP7-specific oligonucleotides. Thislocation was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)using the BAC harboring human MOP7 structural gene as the probe (GenomeSystems, Inc.).

Northern Blot analysis. To generate a hybridization probe for northernblot analysis, the 894 bp MOP7 insert from PL1017 was excised with EcoR1and radiolabeled with [α-³²P]dCTP by random priming. A northern blotcontaining poly A⁺ mRNA from different mouse tissues (origeneTechnologies, Rockville, Md.) was hybridized with 5×10⁶ cpm/ml MOP7probe. β-actin was used as a loading control.

Gel-shift assay. To generate a double strand oligonucleotide probecontaining the core HRE element, 50 ng of oligonucleotide OL414 wasend-labeled with [γ-³²P]ATP and was annealed with 10 fold excess of coldcomplementary oligonucleotide OL415. Unlabeled oligonucleotidescontaining either wild-type HRE sequence (TACGTG) or mutant HREsequences, AACGTG (OL396/397) or GACGTG (OL398/399), were used incompetition experiments to demonstrate specificity. For expression ofthe bHLH-PAS proteins, mMOP7 (PL1025) and hARNT (PL87) were synthesizedin a reticulocyte lysate in the presence of [³⁵S]methionine. The amountof each protein synthesized was calculated by measuring radioactivityand estimated to be approximately 1 fmol in each 10 μl gel-shiftreaction. Each gel-shift assay was performed with 100,000 cpm ofoligonucleotide probe per 10 μl reaction. To confirm complex identity, 1μl of anti-ARNT sera was used to supershift the DNA bound proteincomplex.

Cell culture and transfection. COS-1 cells were maintained in highglucose DMEM medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 100 units/mlpenicillin and streptomycin. The HRE driven luciferase reporter (PL945)was made by annealing OL1174 and OL1175 and then cloning the fragmentinto pGL3-promoter vector (Promega, Madison, Wis.). For transienttransfection experiments, mammalian expression plasmids expressing MOP7or hARNT with the reporter using lipofectamine (GIBCO BRL LifeTechnologies). A β-galactosidase-expression plasmid was co-transfectedto control for transfection efficiency. Cells were incubated for 20–24hours with or without treatment of cobalt chloride or hypoxia (1% O₂)before being harvested. The luciferase and β-galactosidase activitieswere determined using the luciferase assay and the Galacto-Lightprotocols as previously described (see Example 2).

Results and Discussion

From a TBLASTN search of the dBEST database with the sequencecorresponding to amino acid residues 54 to 125 of hHIF1α, we identifieda mouse EST clone (AA028416) that appeared to be a novel bHLH-PASprotein. This protein is referred to herein as MOP7 and as HIF3α, todenote its relationship to other hypoxia-inducible factors. To obtainthe complete ORF of this cDNA, a series of RACE reactions was performedusing cDNA from mouse lung as template. The MOP7 ORF (SEQ ID NO:7) spans1.98 kb and encodes a 662-amino acid protein (SEQ ID NO:16) with apredicted molecular weight of 73 kDa. Northern blot analysis on mRNAprepared from selected mouse tissues identified a MOP7 transcript thatis expressed in adult thymus, lung, brain, heart and kidney. Thisexpression pattern is distinct from that reported for other α-classHIFs. HIF1α is most abundantly expressed in kidney and heart, and HIF2αis most abundantly expressed in vascular endothelial cells and ishighest in lung, placenta and heart.

HIF1α (MOP1) is the most well-characterized α-class subunit. Thisprotein can be described by a number of signature motifs. In addition tothe bHLH-PAS domains, HIF1α also contains two HRD motifs in itsC-terminus that confer hypoxia responsiveness. The HRD1 appears toprimarily confer hypoxia-dependent protein stability, whereas HRD2appears to confer hypoxia-responsive transcriptional activity. Todetermine if similar motifs occur in MOP7, we compared HIF1α. HIF2α andMOP7 protein sequences using the CLUSTAL algorithm (Higgins & Sharp,Gene 73: 237–244, 1988. These three sequences shared greater than 92%identity in the basic region, 68% in the HLH domain, and greater than53% in the PAS domain. Although little sequence with significanthomology to HRD2 was found, a 36-amino acid stretch within theC-terminal half of MOP7 was found to share 61% identity with the HRD1 ofHIF1α.

To further demonstrate the evolutionary relationship between theseα-class HIFS, we compared their gene structure and chromosomallocalization. Direct sequencing of a BAC clone containing the mMOP7 generevealed 15 exons, all with consensus splice donor/acceptor sites (seesequences of Genbank Accession No. AF079140-079153 for exon-intronjunctions). We found that 11 of 15 and 10 of 15 splice junctions foundin the mMOP7 gene are conserved to those found in hte structural genesof mHIF1α and hHIF2α, respectively (FIG. 8). To characterize thedistribution of HIF genes in the mammalian genome, we used humanMOP7-specific PCR reactions against a human/hamster somatic cell paneland mapped the MOP7 gene locus on human chromosome 19. This locus wasfurther defined to chromosome 19q13.13–13.2 by FISH using a BAC clonecontaining the human MOP7 structural gene as a probe. Therefore, thehuman MOP7 locus is distinct from that of human HIF1α and HIF2α, whichreside on chromosome 14q21–24 and 2p16–21, respectively.

As a biochemical proof that MOP7 was a bona fide α-class HIF, weperformed gel-shift and transient transfection analyses. Because HIF1αand HIF2α are known to pair with the β-class HIF subunit ARNT, wepredicted that MOP7 would also pair with ARNT. Based upon sequenceidentity in their basic regions, we also predicted that a MOP7-ARNTwould bind the HRE core sequence, TACGTG. As predicted, the gel-shiftanalysis showed that MOP7 only bound to the HRE containingoligonucleotide in the presence of ARNT. The specificity of theinteraction was demonstrated by two additional observations. First, theMOP7-ARNT-HRE complex was abolished by anti-ARNT IgGs but not bypreimmune antibodies. Second, the complex was blocked by an excess ofHRE containing oligonucleotide but not by oligonucleotides with a singlemutation within the core HRE sequence. To determine if this interactioncould also occur in vivo, MOP7 and/or ARNT were cotransfected into COS-1cells with a luciferase reporter driven by six HRE enhancer elements.The results demonstrated that the combination of MOP7 and ARNTupregulated transcription from the HRE-driven reporter by 11.7 fold,whereas neither protein alone had an effect. In addition, the activityof these complexes was enhanced by either hypoxia or cobalt chloride.

To demonstrate that the MOP7 activity was directly upregulated byhypoxia, we employed a fusion protein approach that has been used to mapthe HRDs of HIF1α. HRD1 of HIF1α has been shown to encode ahypoxia-responsive protein stability domain that also displays weaktranscriptional activity. Given the sequence similarity between residues453–496 if MOP7 and the HRD1 of HIF1α, we predicted that this domainwould independently respond to hypoxic stimulus or cobalt ion exposure.To test this, we constructed a plasmid expressing a fusion proteincomprised of the DNA binding domain of GAL4, the predicted HRD1 of MOP7,and the TAD from ARNT. We predicted that we could measure the responseof this domain by monitoring the output from a GAL4-driven luciferasereporter in Hep3B cells. The results demonstrated that the fusionprotein's activity increased by 4.5- and 4.2-fold, upon treatment withcobalt chloride or hypoxia, respectively. In control experiments, weobserved that a GAL4 fusion protein harboring only the ARNT-TAD did notrespond to either hypoxia or cobalt chloride treatment. The level ofinducibility seen with the HRD1 fusion is consistent with that obtainedfor a similar fusion protein using the HRD1 domain of HIF1α. This resultprovided evidence that amino acids 453 to 496 of MOP7 was sufficient toconfer the hypoxia inducibility and that the stability of the parentprotein is regulated in a manner that is similar to that of HIF1α andHIF2α.

In eucaryotes, transcriptional responses to low oxygen tension aremediated by complex interactions between a number of α- and β-class HIFsubunits. The characterization of a third α-class HIF with a tissuedistribution that is distinct from either HIF1α or HIF2α providesevidence that cellular responses to hypoxia result from a complex set ofinteractions from multiple combinations of αβ pairs. MOP7 also may havea distinct role in mediating biological responses to hypoxia. In supportof this notion, MOP7 and HIF1α have limited sequence homology in theirC-termini. Most importantly, MOP7 contains sequence that corresponds toHIF1α's protein stability element, HRD1, but not to itshypoxia-responsive TAD element, HRD2. This may indicate that MOP7-ARNTcomplexes have decreased transcriptional potency relative to other HIFheterodimers. The importance of this complexity is underscored by thepresence of HIF1α, HIF2α and MOP7 in both mice and humans. Finally, thiscomplexity appears to be highly conserved among vertebrates. In supportof this idea, we have cloned a partial human MOP7 cDNA and have shownall three HIF α-class genes reside on separate human chromosomes anddisplay considerable sequence divergence in their C-termini.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described andexemplified above, but is capable of variation and modification withinthe scope of the appended claims.

1. An isolated nucleic acid molecule having a sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) SEQ ID NO:3; b) a sequence encoding a polypeptide having amino acid SEQ ID NO:12.
 2. A recombinant DNA molecule comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, operably linked to a vector for transforming cells.
 3. A cell transformed with the recombinant DNA molecule of claim
 2. 4. An oligonucleotide between about 10 and about 100 nucleotides in length, which is fully complementary to a portion of the nucleic acid molecule of claim
 1. 5. The oligonucleotide of claim 4, wherein said portion includes a translation initiation site of said polypeptide.
 6. An isolated nucleic acid molecule having a sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) SEQ ID NO:9; and b) a sequence encoding a polypeptide having amino acid SEQ ID NO:17.
 7. A recombinant DNA molecule comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 6, operably linked to a vector for transforming cells.
 8. A cell transformed with the recombinant DNA molecule of claim
 7. 9. An oligonucleotide between about 10 and about 100 nucleotides in length, which is fully complementary to a portion of the nucleic acid molecule of claim
 6. 10. The oligonucleotide of claim 9, wherein said portion includes a translation initiation site of said polypeptide. 